The Daily Car

Not content with combining two cars, Volkswgen has - like SEAT and Renault - decided to join in with the current SUV MPV spirit, only VeeDub’s effort is more extreme: it is the Hatchback SUV MPV.

Meet the Golf Plus Dune. It’s based on the Golf Plus but is 2cm higher and gets a few bits ‘n’ bobs plastered around the bodywork to spice things up. There are 400 coming to the UK and if you want to buy one it will cost you £18,495. But why would you want one?

To be honest I think it’s all a bit stupid - we don’t really need new niches of car to be created every time a butterfly sneezes. We’ve coped for ages with the usual selection of machine categories so why the need for change now? Can’t they be busying themselves with other, more important issues, rather than creating pointless niches in the car market?

Last week, Renault unveiled a vehicle called the Scenic Conquest - a beefier (yet two-wheel-drive) version of the Scenic small MPV, with SUV looks. SEAT has been quick to keep up with the Joneses and show off the similar Altea Freetrack, a vehicle based on the Altea XL and the company’s first ever off-road car.

This MPV/SUV thing is not a puny 2WD vehicle, however - it has four wheel drive: take that, Renault! The 4×4 system itself is the VW group’s Haldex four-wheel drive system which has been previously used in the Škoda Octavia Scout. There will be a choice of two different 2.0 litre engines - a diesel and a petrol. The former will have 167bhp and achieve 41.5mpg, whilst both numbers for the latter - which is also found in the VW Golf GTi - rise by 30.

Inside, the cabin remains unchanged but expect a battery of equipment, including a built-in DVD player.

The vehicle will be shown at the Barcelona motor show and is thought to go on sale in September, but there’s no word on pricing yet.

Today, Euro NCAP - the European New Car Assessment Programme which crash-tests cars - launched a new brand image, website and campaign.

The new campaign is called Choose ESC and it is designed to both make consumers choose cars fitted with Electronic Stability Control and persuade the EU to make the essential and super-effective safety system a legal requirement, just like ABS.

At the Bridgestone Proving Ground in Rome, Euro NCAP said that it was not happy with the low amount of cars with ESC. Euro NCAP’s secretary general, Adrian Hobbs, said of the ESC report findings, We must all do what we can to raise awareness of ESC’s importance.

In order to make choosing a safer car easier for consumers, the Euro NCAP rating system has been revised - there are now colour coded icons.

Euro NCAP said that although it was happy with the level of cars achieving good results for occupant protection, it wanted better pedestrian impact results to be achieved by vehicles and if the public found it easier to find out about the pedestrian protection scores of cars, then the car industry would be more inclined to take care of pedestrians.

The new website has been redesigned too. Mr Hobbs said, I believe that the introduction of Euro NCAP’s new website will revolutionise the way that we display the results of our crash tests. I also hope it will really assist consumers in choosing and buying a safer vehicle.

On Tuesday, Subaru announced a new Impreza, complete with a better-looking front end to replace the much-criticised aeroplane-like grille. The new Tribeca, too, announced on Wednesday, will gain that front end, as it too has been critisiced for the ugly looks.

The Japanese company will also address another problem - the engine. It’s size will increase from 3.0 litres to 3.6 litres and the power output will go up by 11bhp as a result. However, there’s still only the option of petrol power - diesel is proving to be a bit of a pipe dream.

The 5-speed automatic gearbox has been improved, and the firm says that the addition of a torque converter will allow quicker and smoother gear ratio changing.

The entire front end has been redesigned to fit in with the hastily re-thought-out new face of Subaru, as you can see. The headlights, rear light clusters, front valance and bonnet have all been redesigned - not just the grille.

The Subaru, which will lose the ‘B9′ part of its name to be just called the ‘Tribeca’, also gets updated rear suspension bushings which will allow folks to slide the second row of seats more easily. Grab handles that allow passengers to get to third row of seats with more ease will also feature.

We’ll have to wait until Spring 2008 for the Tribeca but the USA gets it at the end of this year.

Geneva is a hotspot in the motoring world currently as its motor show is under way. Today we saw news of an Opel Concept car and some 4×4s, but hottest of all was this new Volvo XC70 four wheel drive estate thing.

Recently news rushed ashore of the new Volvo V70 estate, and in time-honoured fashion, there will be a derivative made for rock-climbing, to compete with the likes of Audi’s A6 Allroad Quattro. The XC70 stars the new Volvo 4×4 styling cues previewed in the XC60 concept car early this year in Detroit.

Niche cars like this are hard for me to classify and this is no exception. It’s taking a more upmarket approach, like Volvo’s parent company - Ford - is.

Where once there were tacky dustbin materials there now can be found some posh painted stuff and there is also some leather. Golly.

But the car is still as rough ‘n’ ready as a lifestyle backpack. Volvo bigwig Stefan Jansson even went as far as comparing the new bumper-mounted air intakes to boxing gloves.

Škoda will take on the likes of the Daihatsu Terios, Fiat Sedici, Suzuki SX4, VW Polo Dune and Fiat Panda 4×4 with this - the enlarged, Scout badged version of the Roomster supermini-MPV.

On sale next summer in the UK, and to be unveiled at the Essen motor show in Germany, the Scout should cost about 14 thousand quid. Apart from the 1.2 litre basic engine, all motors from the normal Roomster will be carried over from the previous car.

This won’t be a proper SUV, however, with just 2-wheel drive at the front. That said, it will at least look the part with 16-inch rims (17-inchers are an option), and roof rails, topped off with underbody protection.

Aston Martin has released pictures of the new V8 Vantage Volante, a swish drop-top which goes on sale in spring 2007.

The car is based on the firm’s baby V8 Vantage, a coupé, and has a top speed of 175 miles per hour. 0-62mph takes 5.0 seconds. This is partly thanks to the fact that the car is only minutely heavier than it’s coupé counterpart.

The electric roof can be operated at speeds of up to 30 mph, handy for when it starts raining or shining all of a sudden and you don’t want to pause the terrific driving experience. It won’t be made of metal - just canvas - but hopefully that will mean a better drive, if not great practicality.

The prices will be announced closer to the motor’s launch. The car will be unveiled at the 2006 Los Angeles motor show on Wednesday 29th November.