This is on my tiscali homepage.
1. Volvo C30
On sale: now
Pros: Join the re-Volvo-lution with the most exciting thing to come out of Sweden since Agnetha Faltskog?s hotpants. Volvo wants fresh fans and the three-door, glass-backed C30 ? priced from £16,795 for the 109bhp 1.6D ? should see that wish fulfilled. Crafted, chic and sharp-suited, the C30 is 2007?s must-have hatch.
Cons: Top-end 180bhp D5, from £20,795, comes with dull auto-only gearing.
Tiscali verdict: 8/10
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2. Citroen C4 Picasso
On sale: January 07
Pros: At last, you don?t have to drive an MPV and feel like a eunuch. Citroen has over-egged the windscreen omelette with the new C4-based Picasso ? but the result is a widescreen wonder with acres of space and plenty of gallic charm. And don?t tell the all the other school runners, but it?s fun to drive, too. Prices kick off at around £15,000 for the 1.6-litre 110bhp, though the 138bhp 2.0 HDI is a 45mpg peach ? at around £21,000 in Exclusive spec.
Cons: Everyone else?s kids will want a lift home.
Tiscali verdict: 7/10
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3. Audi A3 Sportback 2.0TDI
On sale:now
Pros: Why buy a 2.7-litre V6 Audi A4 when you can enjoy all the on-road thrills in this new boiled-down package? Audi?s nifty A3 Sportback, a miniature estate, finally gets a power-boosted 170PS (that?s 168bhp!) tweak on the standard 140PS TDI unit. The result? Rocketship-quick acceleration that stays faithful to Audi?s renowned high-mpg promise: with 48.7mpg overall, it?s the best of both worlds, all from £21,430.
Cons: If you find the Sport noisy ? the standard £19,430 model has a quieter ride.
Tiscali verdict: 8/10
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4. Skoda Roomster
On sale: now
Pros: We?re still not quite sure what the Roomster is, but it?s brilliant. Invest with confidence in a badge that now rivals Lexus and Honda for rock-solid quality. The Roomster has all of the utility of a Citroen Berlingo but none of the odour of Millets. It?ll swallow a brace of mountain bikes without a whimper yet drives like a thoroughly modern hatchback.
Cons: Diesel choice is plentiful but the 70bhp 1.4 is a wheezer. £14,050 buys a 1.9 whizzer.
Tiscali verdict: 9/10
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5. Mazda CX-7
On sale: Autumn 07
Pros: Mazda is playing zoom-zoom catch-up on the diesel front, but the shapely flanks of the CX-7 promise to make up for any shyness in this market. So you want perfromance and practicality? Well here?s a 258bhp family-size SUV that will blast to 60mph in just over seven seconds. Fun features include a slick five-speed manual box, eighteen-inch wheels and a rakish windscreen designed to mimic a sportscar. Starting a family has never been so enticing?
Cons: Well, you?ll have to wait until late next year, though they?ll take a deposit?
Tiscali verdict: 7/10
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6. Renault Twingo
On sale: Autumn 07
Pros: The UK missed out on the Twingo first time round in a decision that?s up there for stupidity with the chocolate gearstick. The Twingo is the car world?s answer to the fondant fancy ? small, sweet and packed with energy-boosting calories. This next model promises ?multi-media? talents and high-tech rear lights as well as a panoramic glass sunroof. Engines are hazy as yet ? there?s an unsubstantiated rumour of a new 1.0-litre diesel, though Renault?s existing 1.5 is the likeliest choice.
Cons: It might fit your Xmas stocking but you?ll have to wait until next autumn?
Tiscali verdict: 7/10
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7. Audi R8
On sale: Summer 07
Pros: Blast every argument about petrol supremacy into the weeds. Porsche 911s and Aston Martins will quiver like jellies when this beauty looms in the rear-view mirror. Audi?s world domination of diesel motorsport will take to public tarmac when the R8 finally gets the 4.2-litre TDI unit it so obviously deserves, delivering a likely sub-five second 60mph performance.
Cons: From around £77,000 that 10% deposit would buy a real-world diesel.
Tiscali verdict: 10/10
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8. New Mini
On sale: Spring 07
Pros: You won?t have missed the brouhaha about the spot-the-difference new Mini. Understandably, BMW took an if-it-ain?t-broke approach to the second-generation car, on sale now. Mini?s management is keeping tight-lipped, however, about the new diesel which arrives in the spring. We hope it will have more oomph than the improved version of the Toyota-sourced unit found in the last model. The omens, however, like the car, are lookin? good?
Cons: Everybody?s got one, so it seems. Class-free fun has a price?
Tiscali verdict: 7/10
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9. Land Rover Freelander 2
On sale: now
Cons: Step aside all those also-ran offroaders, Freelander is biting back with an all-new set of outdoor clothes and sturdy go-anywhere boots to match. A trim £20,935 gets you into 2.2-litre TD4 with alloys, sporty six-speed transmission, halogen headlamps, heated exterior mirrors, air conditioning and six-speaker CD player. Just what the ticket for global exporation?
Cons: It?s not a Range Rover Sport.
Tiscali verdict: 8/10
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10. Smart Fortwo Destroyer
On sale: now
Pros: You want a micromobile for all those irritatingly small parking spaces left by people who don?t know how to park. Only trouble is, a Smart car can often end up caught in a parking wedgie. At last ? the solution! This Smart For Fun2 features wheels from the Mercedes-Benz Unimog, plus a special six-cylinder diesel engine with 84bhp of bonnet-mounting grunt. Kiss those parking blues goodbye!
Cons: Okay, you guessed, it?s a one-off novelty. The standard Smart starts at £6,775.
Tiscali verdict: 10/10
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