What is it?
Vauxhall. Estate. Diesel. Not exactly words that get the heartstrings twanging, are they? Yet those in the market for a truly sensible car – rather than an exciting or interesting one – would do well to consider them. This is the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer – or estate, if you look past the marketing gobbledegook. It’s based on the latest Mk7 Astra, giving it a good starting point to work from, and offers a range of efficient engines alongside a usefully practical body.
What is it?
“The Maserati of SUVs.” No, really, that’s the marketing tagline. In essence, the Levante is the Italian firm’s rival to the Porsche Cayenne. Like the Porsche, it’s enough to make purists cry – but also like the Porsche, the volume sales Maserati plans to achieve from the Levante will help fund the further development of its sports car lineup. Quite important, then – when you consider what a massive success the Cayenne and other premium SUVs have been. We’re testing the Levante in dynamic GranSport trim, fitted with a petrol engine.
Sales at Dairy Crest were given a boost by the outperformance of key brands Cathedral City and Clover in the first quarter, despite challenging market conditions.
TalkTalk has posted rising first quarter sales and said it expects to bag 150,000 new customers this year as the telecoms group continues with its turnaround.
What is it?
There’s a certain deadlock between car manufacturers and governments at the moment regarding the supposed fuel of the future, hydrogen. While plenty of manufacturers are poised to release fuel-cell vehicles, they’re reluctant to do so with no real refuelling infrastructure in place – and governments are unlikely to invest in hydrogen stations with so few cars around to use them. It’s fallen to Hyundai to plough forward with the Nexo – the successor to its ix35 Fuel Cell and soon to be the Toyota Mirai’s only hydrogen-powered rival in the UK.
Recruitment firm Hays has said that profit is expected to come in slightly ahead of expectations after the firm booked a solid fourth quarter performance.
