Oakley Hoodie

Car manufacturers make a big deal about their heritage. VW stitch chequered patterns into the seats of brand new Golf GTIs to invoke the ‘spirit of the original’, Peugeot have the nerve to badge a gawpy faced shopping trolley as an S16, and BMW even hi-jacked someone else’s heritage when they celebrated the original Mini’s 50th birthday as their own. But why bother? What does such Tony Robinson history gazing actually prove?

Two things. First, that car companies were more innovative and interesting in the past than they are now. And second, that they think people don’t like change. So when the mk5 Golf GTi came around with a radical new double clutch gearbox, proper handling and 200hp, VW didn’t say ‘it’s completely different’ they said it was ‘the original, updated’. Despite the fact it was totally new. Apart from the pattern on the seats, obviously.

The point of such comforting, stylised references is to encourage brand loyalty; ‘don’t worry, your new car will have all the things you like about your old car… but it’ll be better’. We don’t ever really feel the past seeping through a car’s controls and dynamics – we’re just told it’s there. In the DNA. Invisible, intangible… but there. Outside of seat fabric semiotics though, it’s largely bollocks. Marketing, not engineering.

Which makes the Mazda CX-7 a massive surprise, because it’s the exact opposite: a car without heritage, that somehow manages to feel like its busting at the seems with DNA. Not just any old gene strings either, but straight from their most iconic, heritage packed car – the mk1 MX5. It’s because of something we’re going to call mechanical continuity – the tiny but tangible feats of engineering that give a car its character, and that can make different machines genuinely feel related. A sense of mechanical continuity is exactly what the badge engineered new Minis and Peugeot S16s lack. There’s no tangible relationship to the cars which apparently inspired them.

Drive the CX-7 and MX-5 back-to-back and, despite the enormous differences in their purposes, the similarities are more striking than the differences. Not because of some flaky reference to the spirit of open-topped motoring either, but because of an impression of genuine ancestry. The gearchanges, for instance, could have been made on identical factory lines. Snicky, short, mechanical, deliberate and satisfying – each car’s box rewards a precise left hand.

The steering too, has a closely related manner. Over-assisted around the dead-ahead, quick to react, detailed under load and linear… both systems feel like they’ve come from the same engineer’s workshop. Light, sharp clutches which punish lapses in concentration. Brakes which bite with little effort but can be modulated easily. Interiors with circular vents, clear dials and stubby gear levers. Bodywork that doesn’t feel as if it’s got class leading torsional rigidity. The cars are separated by 15 years, 750kg, drivetrain layouts, transmissions, purposes and even number of seats… but there’s a clear ancestry pinning them together.

So why don’t Mazda say call it ‘the MX-5… but off-road’ or something? Why don’t they peddle the past to sell the future? They’d got reasonable grounds to do so after all – the CX-7 feels more closely related to an MX-5 than a 207 S16 does to a 205 S16 after all. They could have given it pop-up lights and everything.

It’s probably because they think the car buying public aren’t stupid. They don’t expect us to fall for the marketing spiel… they know that seat fabrics don’t give a new car the spirit of an old one. It’s a commendable, respectable way of dealing with car buyers. Treating them respect, and an assumption that we’re not all susceptible to pretty pictures and break dancers with Gene Kelly’s head. And when was the last time you saw a CX-7? Exactly. Never. We’re too stupid to give it a chance. If it was called the MX-4×4 they’d be all over the place.

Nissan have announced prices for their brilliantly gawky Sonia Jackson look-a-like, the Juke. And while the looks split opinion like Cassidy splits mirrors, we want one even more than we did before. The range starts at a Fiesta scaring £12,795, which gets you a 1.6 petrol engine, 16″ alloys and air con alongside the bag-of-smashed-crabs face.

The model your brain will tell you to want is the middling £15,145 1.5 dCi Acenta, where you get climate control, Bluetooth, a USB hole and 17″ rims. The model your heart will want is the top of the range, £19,995 190hp turbocharged 1.6 with four wheel drive. Best compromise is probably the turbo charged engine in 2WD form, which costs from £15,595. Less than £16k for a mad looking, British built odd-box with 190hp? Yes please.

Reasons for not buying a Juke are the excellent Skoda Yeti – a touch pricey and bland by comparison, and the agile Fiesta – on the nose for price, but smaller. So, while the face may have a whiff of sausagemeat Cassidy to it, we reckon it’s an interesting, good value, decently equipped wedge of geometric spunkiness. Nissan will take deposits from June, with deliveries starting in September. Like.

Matalan Beachwear

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

BMW announced their subtle new 5 Series Touring will go on sale in September, from £30,380. Fiat revealed their saccharine 500C Pink, which will set exhibitionists back £13,500. Nissan slipped a 187bhp, 2.5 litre turbocharged diesel into their quietly desirable Murano crossover. And Kia released more pictures of their handsomely tiger-faced, Mondeo-rivalling Magentis, which comes to the UK in 2011.

MISS – Nissan Micra

As frog faced and squidgy looking as the current Micra is, and as much as that might have scared away some core grannies, surely the Nissan Micra should look more interesting than this?

HIT – Skoda Fabia vRS

There’s something unpretentiously desirable about a quick Skoda – especially when it’s running the same 177bhp twincharger engine as the excellent Ibiza Cupra. There’s even going to be an estate version of this £16k hot hatch.

MISS – Alfa Romeo Giulietta

A lot of people were making inappropriate sexual noises as they walked passed Alfa’s new Focus rival – we can only assume it was because of the models. Promises of Golf rivalling quality aside, we think the Giulietta looks a bit awkard. Like a pigeon with piles.

HIT – Vauxhall Meriva

Now based on the Zafira, the Meriva has gone posh with a smart interior and trick suicide doors. Gimmick or not, Rolls Royce style entry apertures are what car buying humans like to show off to their mates – it’s a smart move.

MISS – Every Porsche Panamera There

So many naff tuning firms decided to further butcher the Porsche Pigs Ear it actually got a bit funny. A personal favourite was the hilariously named ‘Fab Design’ who accidentally shat all sorts of glass fibre pebble dashed mess all over the place.

HIT – Mini Countryman

There. We’ve said it. The Mini Countryman wasn’t that bad in the flesh – not perfect, but not an complete face disgrace. In real life it looked quite muscular and chunky, and, as you’ll note by the amazing photo below – there’s room for a human with knees in the back.

Knees, fitting in behind our own 6ft driving position. Never seen before in a Mini.

Geneva 2010 was a cracking show for actual cars that human people will soon be driving in the real world. So good in fact, that we’ve had to make a list just so you can take it all in. We’ve supplemented our shitty iPhone snaps with press pics to help you see too.

Nissan Juke

Yeah yeah, it’s just a small crossover… but look at it. The Juke is proper mental. Nissan have already proved their ability to judge what people want to buy when they released the Qashqai – it appealed to everyone from Focus to 4×4 to Mondeo buyers.

The Juke is going to slot under the Qashqai when it goes on sale in October at around £13k. And don’t forget that these days, that’s the price of a mid-spec Fiesta or Polo, so there’s every chance that the Juke could ‘do a Qashqai’ to the supermini market. Seeing as it’s being built in Sunderland by the good men of the North, hopefully it’ll do well.

Citroen DS3 Racing

All of Citroen’s new cars were actually bloody interesting – but amongst the fictional concepts, the DS3 Racing was the quiet star. When was the last time Citroen made a car that made you want to drive it? We can’t remember either.

Despite the fact they’ve been building up a cracking rally reputation for a good few years, Citroen have taken a while to cash in on it – which is what the DS3 Racing comes in, being tweaked by the same chaps that build Loeb’s company car. It’s got a 200bhp 1.6 Turbo, wider track, stiffened and lowered suspension and twiddled ECU to make it quick… probably quick enough to hit 60mph in less than 7 seconds.

It’ll go on sale in the summer, and Citroen man didn’t disagree when we suggested it would cost just shy of £20k. Citroen man also told us that because only 1,000 will be made, the DS3R might not be available with the level of customisation found on the standard car – if they’re all grey and orange with the wheels of the show car, that won’t be a bad thing. It’s not just the Audi A1 that’s going to bother the Mini Cooper S.

Aston Martin Cygnet

In a radical move of assertion, we asked a man at Aston Martin if they were actually going to build the Toyota iQ based luxury city car – the man said ‘we are intending to produce the Cygnet before the end of the year’. He also commented how the chassis of the iQ will remain 100% intact as the Toyota becomes an Aston, without even changes to bushes, dampers or spring rates. The Aston Martin Cygnet will drive exactly like a Toyota iQ. Gosh

Prices are speculative at the moment, but Aston Martin didn’t dismiss us when we said we’d heard they’d start at £30k – Aston man also said it was more than likely that the car would initially be sold to current customers, with the aim to put it on general sale.

The interior of the show car wasn’t anywhere near to production finish, but the architecture and style reflected how the final car will look – and, to be honest, wasn’t impressive. While the outside of the car at least has a nod towards an Aston face with token styling cues, the architecture of the iQ interior remains – which simply doesn’t feel like enough effort to justify the extra cost over the Toyota. Final judgement has to wait until we’ve all seen a final car, but we’re more worried than ever that the Cygnet could really tarnish Aston’s good name.

Audi A1

Swiss motoring journalists couldn’t get enough of the little Audi, which shows just how subtly mature the well resolved styling is. It looks even smarter and well proportioned in the flesh with a stocky stance and beautiful headlight jewellery. Bizarrely, we stood staring at the A1 for longer than we did the Pagani Cinque Roadster.

We’ve always had a worry that the A1’s smart exterior could be let down by a less impressive, built to a price interior – but if the show car’s anything to go by, that won’t be a problem. While some of the materials and buttons weren’t quite as intricately damped as those in a bigger, pricier Audi it still had more than enough quality and tactility to make the starting price of £13k seem like ruddy good value.

Options will be key though – the daytime running lights, swooping roof line and smart wheels all need paying extra for, or the A1 will look drab and be worth nothing come resale. Bloody hell, what sensible advice. Goes on sale this Autumn.

Ford Focus

This could be the world’s biggest selling car when it goes on sale in the US, China and Europe next year. It’s fairly important. The styling of the outside was still raising eyebrows, with smart details like the triangular front grilles and funky fuel filler flap looking good, but perhaps one too many creases down the side and awkward rear lights. Shouldn’t every Focus ever have upright rear lights?

The interior is a much happier place – smart and premium looking, as well as being a lot more interesting than the current car. There were some rough edges on the pre-production show car, but the smart centre joystick and climate/radio layout already felt familiar and ergonomically sound. Nice leather dash top with bright yellow stitching all over too.

Perhaps more interestingly than the interior is the fact that Ford man told us that the next hot Focus, which won’t necessarily be called the RS, won’t come with a 5 cylinder engine as the current RS engine isn’t Euro V compliant so will be dropped. It was more than hinted that the top hot 2011 Focus would be running a 2.0 litre turbocharged four cylinder engine – perhaps a tuned version of the new car’s new Ecoboost motor. They’re already claiming that the new Focus is a sportier drive than any previous model, and that it’ll be even more of a revelation than the current Fiesta is. Which is good.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Hyundai announced that their curiously appealing iX35 Crossover will cost from £16,495 when it goes on sale in the UK in March. The sale of Saab to Spyker was finally officially completed – more of that here. And Proton released a picture of their Lotus developed hybrid concept which will be revealed at Geneva, hopefully with the Italdesign body on top.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Porsche released some info on the new Panamera V6 – it’ll have 296bhp, 296lb ft of torque, be good for 30.4mpg combined and cost £61k. Toyota announced a face-job for their Rav4, which will be shown at Geneva. And BMW tweaked the M3, adding stop-start and an optional Competition Pack which lowers it 10mm and offers tweaked eletronic stability control settings.

It’s definitely not a practical joke any more. Mini have announced prices and other details for their Countryman crossover, which will go on sale in the UK in September. Cheapest is the 98hp One at exactly £16,000, rising up to £20,810 for the 184hp Cooper S.

The Cooper D looks like the most sensible buy at £18,810 – it’s got 112hp, 199lb ft and will get to 62mph in 10.9 secs. It also only emits 116g/km of CO2 and is quoted at 64.2 mpg combined. All those figures are for the front wheel drive models though; an  ’All4′ four wheel drive transmission will be available on the Cooper S and Cooper D, costing a smidge over a grand extra with a CO2 and mpg penalty that Mini say is ‘smaller than one might expect’. We’ll have to take their word for it, as they’ve not actually said what it is.

As far as our basic understanding of 4WD transmissions go, the Countryman All4 uses what is essentially an electro-magnetic version of a Haldex clutch – if the front wheels lose traction, the rears are engaged. A prop-shaft to the rear wheels actually runs constantly to make the transition from FWD to 4WD as smooth as possible, with the clutch engaging the rear wheels when necessary. Clever. Although the ground clearance is actually only 1cm higher than a normal Mini so the 4WD seems a bit pointless anyway.

All UK cars will come with a rear bench seat as standard, with a no-cost option of having two individual rear seats instead. Other standard kit includes parking sensors, heated mirrors and washers, roof rails, DAB radio, bluetooth and ‘preparation for a bicycle rack’.

Unavoidable cynicism for such a cynical car aside, the fact that the Cooper D Countryman can be had for less than £20k seems reasonable value next to the likes of Kugas, X1s and Tiguans which all cost a good few grand more. We’ll reserve judgement as to how practical it really is until we’re poking around it in Geneva – but if it’s got vaguely comparable space to the likes of the Kuga, you better get used to seeing its funny face about.

Following on from the teaser image they released a few months ago, Nissan have now parped out more info and pics of their new Juke crossover. And it looks completely fucking mental. Gloriously ugly; a genetically modified cross between a Skoda Yeti and a Nissan Murano that’s being viewed through a prism. It’s no beauty, but it’s got the type of brutality and individuality we reckon will work on the street, and appeal to the youthfully trendy men Nissan are aiming for. Anyway, enough subjectivity – on with the fact spew.

Sir Juke will go on sale in October, slotting in under the all-conquering Qashqai in size and cost. No prices have been announced yet, but reckon on an opening gambit of around £13k. Beneath the mental face is a widened, lengthened version of the Micra platform which is available as either a two- or, if you go for the most powerful engine, four-wheel drive.

This top motor is a new 187bhp direct injection 1.6 petrol turbo, which Nissan say offers all the grunt and response of a naturally aspirated 2.5 litre. Beneath that is a naturally aspirated, 115bhp 1.6 petrol and Nissan’s familiar 1.5dCi diesel with 108bhp and 177lb ft of torque. Performance and economy figures haven’t been announced, but expect the 1.6 turbo petrol to be fast and not very economical, with the 1.5dCi being the exact opposite.

The 4wd version is fitted with a trick torque vectoring system that, like in a BMW X6, can shift power left or right across the rear axle as well as forward and back between front and rear – Nissan claim this will reduce understeer. A multi-link rear suspension is also fitted to the 4wd models, instead of the torsion beams on the 2wd drive cars… seems a shame that only the most powerful engine is available with this chassis really.

Three spec levels will be available – the usual Nissan lines of Visia, Acenta and Tekna. Optional kit will include a reversing camera, illuminated door sills and ‘Nissan Dynamic Control System’ which lets the driver fiddle with the car’s dynamic settings as well as boring stuff like the heater and lights. Whether it’s a stunner or a munter is up to you, but if Nissan do price the Juke lower than the Qashqai or Skoda Yeti, you better get used to seeing it around. And because it’s built in Britain you can’t say anything bad about it – or Alistair Darling will kneecap you. You’ve been warned.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Today, many cars were revealed. Nissan thrust their striking Yeti rivalling crossover upon us. VW showed off the new Touareg – now with a 34mpg, 375bhp hybrid that can run on just electricity. Kia bandied around their plug-in hybrid Ray concept, which hints at what a Kia Prius rival would be like. And Audi unveiled official pics of their new A1.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Virgin Racing unveiled their VR-01 F1 car, although not with the online digital extravaganza they’d hoped for because of technical difficulties. Which bodes well. Peugeot invoked unanimous disappointment with their new £14,695 207 S16, which only has 120bhp but loads of stickers. And Kia released pictures of their dashingly handsome Sportage, which will go on sale this September from £15,500.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Mitsubishi officially revealed pictures of its ASX Crossover, which will want to pinch buyers from the all-conquering Qashqai when it arrives this summer. The world’s cleverest man, Ross Brawn, said Michael Schumacher will win the 2010 F1 Championship, but not the first race. And a spokesperson from Saab’s hospice said the company is still hopeful of being revived by Spyker.

A slight of hand somewhere behind the scenes at BMW has led to pictures of the Mini Countryman appearing before they really should have done. And it’s not much of a looker. The mudflaps are in the wrong place for a start…

Various concept incarnations like the doorless Beachcomber have already been shown off, but these are the first real-life, real-car piccies of Mini’s first crossover. It’ll be seen in the flesh for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March, before going on sale in the UK in the autumn from around £17k. Unlike a lot of mock-roaders, the Countryman will actually be 4WD – eagle eyed viewers will note an ‘All4′ badge on the front door.

Other than the accidentally placed mudflaps, styling hightlights include the clumsiest roof to C-pillar transition ever seen on a production car, round front lights that aren’t actually round at all and a boot lid that still looks sparse despite the massive Mini badge. Good news comes from the fact that it’s got proper back doors instead of borrowing the Clubman’s half sized kitchen cupboard design.

Inside, it’s very similar to a normal Mini with the addition of an aeroplane throttle style handbrake that might be easier to use with Gore-Tex gloves after you’ve been skiing. The styling might be an acquired taste, and even a modestly specced Countryman will no doubt cost Golf GTI money, but look on the bright side… it could be the first new Mini that’s more spacious than Issigonis’ model from 1959. Now that’s progress.

Analogue clocks are generally a sign of good taste, subtle style and nuanced craftsmanship. They grace some of the best interiors in the world, from Bentley to Rolls Royce to Range Rover. Even the VW Phaeton, one of the most carefully considered cars ever made, has one. So to find one in what is essentially a Nissan made for Americans is a bit of a shock. It’s not just a clock – it’s a statement of classy intent.

Because while Infiniti are owned by Nissan, and while they have been making cars for Americans for years, they’re now intent on making us tasteful Brits take them seriously. Everything from the dealer network to the chassis has been specially prepared for us; walk into an Infiniti shop and you won’t get heckled by a thug in a nylon suit, you’ll be offered your own ‘account manager’ who will see you through sale and aftersale for the entire time you own the car. But is their EX37 worthy of the analogue clock?

Moving from the clock outwards, it starts well. The interior sees soft leather meet sharp technology – a bird’s eye view 360º camera system, adaptive cruise control and decent touch screen sat nav are bedded into the European standard materials. Wearing brown and black together might break Trinny and Susannah’s rules but it doesn’t creak, is ergonomically sound and feels tightly glued together. The ambience is in keeping with the timepiece.

And, thanks to the engine, so is the drive. Until a Nissan/Renault V6 diesel is offered later this year, the only motor you can have is the 3.7 litre V6 petrol from the 370Z, which in the EX37 thrusts out 316bhp. You’ll rarely get more than 20mpg from it, but the brawny noise and neck-bothering force it generates maintains the impression of class. Comparing it to its Roller and Bentley clock-mates is obviously daft, but there’s at least a trace of similarity in the way the EX37 is defined by its engine – smooth, strong, linear… and seeing as it hits 62mph in 6.4 seconds, it’s certainly not running slow.

The only aspect of the Infiniti’s mechanism that isn’t precisely metronomic is the ride – a hefty 1900kg kerb weight obviously needs a firm set of springs to keep in check. Roll control and turn in are decent, and grip from the 4wd with rear LSD is excellent… but you can feel the engineering compromise in the way it jolts across bumps. The ride quality is definitely more harsh LED than subdued analogue.

Steer around the potholes though, and the impression of a plush, grunty and refined carriage remains. At £37k, cars like the £10k cheaper Mazda CX-7 and more spacious, similarly priced VW Touareg offer better value, especially with diesel engines up front – but the Infiniti makes them look stark and dull. So while it might not make perfect financial sense, the EX37 is at least worthy of the posh clock.

The Juke is Nissan’s new crossover, which will go on sale in the UK this Autumn. It’s smaller than the all-conquering, half-million selling Qashqai, and will built at Nissan’s Sunderland factory. Until the official unveiling at the Geneva motor show in March, we’ve just got this teaser pic:

No engine or price details have been released, but it doesn’t take much guesswork to suggest the biggest seller will come with a 1.5dCi engine and cost about as much as a Skoda Yeti – £15k. The Yeti should be shivering with fear…

Because there isn’t any time for self-indulgent road-test guffiness, the Christmas holidays are perfect for testing a car. Instead of pondering steering feedback and other trivialities that most people don’t care about, there are countless opportunities to hear feedback from the real life humans who ride shotgun. So to find out if Peugeot’s 3008 is any good, we just listened to what its passengers said. Like a turkey chomping automotive focus group.

Normally, we’d start off by putting the 3008 in its Nissan Qashqai baiting crossover context. But we’re not going to. Our humans live too far from a Nissan dealer to bother with a Qashqai, and they don’t care what a crossover is. So, onto the all important first impression: ‘it’s massive’. Bugger. An enormous stumbling block, which leads to a very final sounding ‘I’d never be able to drive this’… before being immediately overruled by ‘actually it’s nice to be able to step in… especially at my age.’ Our 3008’s first passenger drives a Mini Cooper and thoroughly loves it – but, unlike in the Mini, she doesn’t need to squat to get into the 3008, so it’s immediately a better car. ‘I’d get used to the size, because I wouldn’t do my back in getting out of it’. Don’t think the Peugeot 3008 and Mini Cooper are rivals? Well, humans think otherwise. And the Peugeot wins.

The next passenger’s observation is a simple one: ‘oooh, it’s lovely’. Right. Admittedly, our £21k Exclusive model is frothing with spec, but the heads up display, sat nav and heated seats are irrelevant because ‘lovely’ actually translates to ‘soft without being sicky’. Clearly the human passenger is complimenting Peugeot’s chassis team on developing something called Dynamic Roll Control – a rear axle set-up where the rear dampers are basically linked, allowing them to be soft but still resist body roll. It’s only available on models with the most powerful of each petrol or diesel engine – but that still means you can have it fitted, as well as a panoramic roof, climate control and alloys, for less than £19k. Only plugging in a phone and making it play music through the car speakers is a bigger revelation.

The wide-eyed disbelief continues with a new passenger, who immediately switches off the heated seat because ‘if I wanted to feel like I’d pissed myself, I’d stay at home’:

‘It’s not a diesel. I can hardly hear it’.
‘It is… it’s got 250lb ft of torque and will theoretically do 50mpg so it’s not going to be a petrol.’
‘Don’t blind me with science, let me have a go.’
‘OK, you drive…’
‘…It’s got some go. What does it do 0-60mph in? About 10 seconds?’
‘Erm, yes actually. Now give me the keys back.’
‘No… let me go round these corners, then we’ll swap.’
‘Fine.’
‘Doesn’t feel wobbly, but the steering’s too light… suppose it’s for women though.’
‘Yes. It’s for women. Because their arms aren’t strong enough to steer a normal car.’
‘Exactly.’
‘I was sort of joking actually.’
‘About what?’
‘Never mind… pull over here.’

That’s the driving settled then; quick and quiet, taut but light. Spot on. But the next passenger doesn’t even need to get in to be won over – they’ve discovered the boot. ‘That’s bloody clever’. The back seats are flipped down using levers inside the 512-litre rear – a nice touch that avoids faffing with doors, latches and seatbelts. Next, the bottom half of the tailgate is ‘lowered like a castle’s drawbridge’. But that’s not the peak of the praise. Oh no. The boot floor is an adjustable shelf. The world is a different place. Gaping chasm? Check. Flat surface with the folded seats? Check. False floor to hide stuff under? Check. ‘Well, if only we’d had this when we had prams.’

Next to be slotted in are two half-size humans with attention spans even shorter than their sticky little fingers. Without a headrest mounted Wii or Disney back catalogue, the 3008 doesn’t immediately seem set up to keep kids amused – until you press the little lever in front of the handbrake. The whole of the sky is revealed, making anyone from Patrick Moore to little kids look up, shut up and become immediately impressed. ‘I can see the moon’. Five minutes of silence is won… before they bicker over whether it’s actually Mars. Roof closed, Miley Cyrus on. Pretty good stereo too.

Then, as quickly as they landed, the humans have gone. We’re back in sensible-headed review land, wondering if all the praise is justified. Is it time to explain how they’re naïve and too easily pleased?  Time to come across as condescending and superior? Well no. Because they’re completely right. Without giving a rat’s crack about what anybody else thinks, the real life humans have quite rightly discovered that the Peugeot 3008 is the smartest family car on sale. Most other cars have got one killer app to suck in buyers; a glass roof, cool tech, plush interior, nice ride, big boot or cracking engine – the 3008 has got all of them. You’d have to be inhuman not to like it.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Mini released pictures of their ‘Beachcomber’ concept car, hinting at what the 2010 Mini Countryman would look like if it didn’t have any doors – i.e. slightly daft. Bugatti showed off three largely irrelevant Veyron special editions, which they will only sell in the Middle East. And Donato Coco, previously the design boss of Ferrari, joined Lotus as Director of Design.

For the last two years, anybody with £25k could have bought themselves a brand new Mazda CX-7. And there are plenty of reasons why they should have done – it’s a good-looking, well-built, smartly priced crossover that’s secretly incredibly capable. Think of it as the BMW X6’s long lost Japanese cousin, without all the brash idiocy. Big and slightly pointless – but very good.

Except because it was only available with the 2.3 litre turbocharged petrol from the Mazda3 MPS, nobody bought one because it would only do about 20mpg. Mazda have realised this and made amends by ditching the petrol engine altogether, now only offering the CX-7 with a 170bhp 2.2 litre diesel. Which means it will do over 30mpg.

But that’s not all – Mazda are making further amends by fitting the new car with an AdBlue system, one of the first available in the UK. Hidden in the boot is a 15l tank of a chemical that’s one-third urea and two-thirds de-mineralised water – basically, it’s piss. The piss is squirted into the exhaust system, where it reacts with the gases and reduces the car’s NO_x. It won’t improve the mpg or reduce your tax bill, but it will lower the amount of nasty stuff coming out the back of the car. A full 15l tank should last 15,000miles and is best refilled when the car is serviced.

And it’s not just a diesel engine and tub of piss that have improved the CX-7 – the outside has been smartened up with new lights, grills and chrome. Inside is tidy too, with everything chucked in as standard for the £25,785 price; heated leather seats, cruise and climate control and Mazda’s usual excellent Bose stereo. Also standard is a sat-nav that despite having the smallest screen ever seen by man, is actually very clear and useable. The styling, ergonomics and materials are all similar to the previous version, but somehow more polished.

Which is exactly how to describe the way the CX-7 drives. Thanks to some better welding and higher quality steel, it feels lighter than its 1800kg weight suggests, and tighter than the previous version. The steering is over-light but gives decent feedback, while the gearchange and general flightiness are just what you’d expect from a Mazda. The new engine feels strong too, with 295lb ft of torque useable from basically anywhere – it’s a very easy engine to drive, although it does get gruff when punched out of its comfort zone.

Yet, despite the CX-7 broadening its horizons with a diesel engine and pot of pee, it’s still going to struggle to sell in massive quantities. Crossovers are bought for badges and status as much as for quality and dynamics – and while an X1 is smaller and no better built, it does have a BMW badge on the front for no extra cash. Mazda have made the CX-7 a much more sensible prospect; it’s just a shame they can’t give its potential buyers enough sense to appreciate it.