Motoring

News in brief

May 2 - 8, 2007
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Five NCAP stars for Mini Cooper
THE new Mini Cooper comes with the news that the Cooper's passive safety system has received the highest possible score in the Euro NCAP Crash Test.

The tyke received five stars as a result of strong results in both the head-on and the side-on/pillar crash, with the risk of injury to occupants being deemed very small.
The testers gave the new Mini Cooper 13 out of 16 points for the car’s deformation behaviour in a head-on collision, and 16 out of 18 points in the side-on and pillar collision, which are both rated together as one category.
Child safety also showed an above-average result.
The five-star overall result is attributable to the MINI’s all-round safety concept: extending from the structure of the body with its defined deformation zones and the stiff passenger cell to the restraint systems masterminded by electronic control units.

Honda shines
Honda features strongly in the latest TopGear owner survey, with the S2000 roadster and the Honda Jazz taking the first and second positions overall in the popular British magazine’s top 10 cars, as voted by owners.
It was the third year in a row that the high-performance VTEC-powered S2000 sports car came out tops in a review ranking cars for reliability, build quality, running costs and the driving experience.
The Honda Jazz, overall runner-up, was number one amongst the small cars in the UK’s biggest owner satisfaction survey.

New concept car?
Toyota have given their Hilux bakkie the extreme machine treatment by creating a special concept big on looks and performance.
The team at Toyota Great Britain has created the Hilux Sport Concept as a one-off special.
The 3.0-litre D-4D diesel engine has a Toyota Motorsport power upgrade that increases output from 126kW to around 150kW.
There are no plans to put the Hilux Sport Concept into production but the first LCV-based concept to be shown by Toyota in England is on display at the country's 2007 Commercial Vehicle Show.







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