A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Nissan Leaf is Car of the Year
NISSAN’S LEAF has been named the World Car of the Year, beating off competition from the BMW 5 Series and Audi A8. Judges from Asia, Europe and North America decide the winner of World Car of the Year and they concluded of the Leaf: “The Leaf is a gateway to a brave new electric world from Nissan. The good news is it feels just like a normal car, only quieter.”
Other awards went to the Ferrari 458 Italia as World Performance Car of the Year, while the Aston Martin Rapide picked up the gong for Design of the Year. Chevrolet’s Volt ran the Leaf close on environmental credentials and took home the award for Green Car of the Year.
Jaguar refreshes XF range
AT THE NEW York International Auto Show, Jaguar revealed its facelifted XF.
The XF now features headlamps similar in style to the Jaguar XJ’s and there are LED lights set into the lenses.
A new front bumper and vents join a lower bonnet. There are also LED rear lights that now extend further across the width of the boot.
Good news for Irish customers is the addition of a 2.2-litre turbodiesel with 190hp and 450Nm of torque.
It’s attached to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and uses a stop-start system to help offer 5.6 litres/100km (50mpg) and 149g/km (band C) carbon dioxide emissions.
Mercedes E63 AMG breaks cover
MERCEDES-BENZ HAS revealed its latest barnstorming E63 AMG and the new car now gets the twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8 from the CLS 63 AMG. That means 532bhp, which can be upgraded to an astonishing 565bhp if you plump for the Performance Pack.
Fitted with a seven-speed automatic gearbox, the car reaches 100km/h in 4.3 seconds and top speed is limited to 250km/h, but it is reckoned that if this limiter was removed it could reach as much as 320km/h. The performance pack increases the limited speed to 300km/h. The car is available as a saloon or estate.