Fashion designer, Paul Smith has extended his association with MINI and the introduction of new models carrying his prestige brand name. Following the MINI Cooper Electric Paul Smith Edition, the range has expanded to include petrol versions of the MINI Cooper 3-door, MINI Cooper 5-door & MINI Cooper Convertible. Pricing starts from £31,285 OTR with production starting in July and deliveries commencing in early Autumn.

Offering a more affordable introduction to the range, the MINI One reappears as the entry point on petrol MINI Cooper 3-door and MINI Cooper 5-door models. Pricing starts from £24,735 OTR. The 1.6L model is rated at 121 hp, with a top speed of 127 mph, and a 0-62 mph in 9.3 seconds.

Vauxhall has opened orders for the New Astra and Astra Sports Tourer, as well as introducing a new petrol automatic version. Uniquely in the industry, the Sports Tourer is priced the same as the hatch, with no added premium, while the Astra Electric now qualifies for the £1,500 Electric Car Grant. Options include a plug-in hybrid and 48V hybrid version, as well as an updated fully electric version with a new 58.3kWh battery, increasing driving range to 281 miles (WLTP) on a single charge.

Vauxhall has also added a 1.2-litre petrol powertrain to the line-up, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The petrol automatic offers greater choice, along with providing a lower entry point to the range, with prices starting from £27,495 OTR. This uses a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine to deliver 130PS returning 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds and a top speed of 130mph.

placeholder image — Vauxhall Astra Electric.

Moving away from the mainstream, the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica is now eligible for the UK Government Electric Car Grant (ECG), providing customers with an additional £1,500 saving on Elettrica, TI and Sport Speciale variants. The entire Junior Elettrica range, including Elettrica, TI, Sport Speciale and range topping Veloce variant also benefit from a £1,500 Alfa Romeo EV grant representing up to £3,000 saving for customers.

With the Electric Car Grant applied, Junior Elettrica is available from £30,900 OTR. The grant can also be combined with the Alfa Romeo EV Grant, worth £1,500 across the entire Junior Elettrica range meaning that Elettrica, TI and Sport Speciale variants benefit from a £3,000 saving, and a £1,500 saving on Veloce.

The Junior Elettrica was cited by ‘Which?’ as being ‘one of the most efficient EVs’ it has tested. It lauded the car for its ‘very impressive’ energy use at just 3.76 miles per kWh. Further underscoring the efficiency of the model, ‘Which?’ stated all the models it tested were responsible for less than 47g CO2 (or equivalent greenhouse gases) produced per kilometre travelled and scored four stars or more in its electricity efficiency tests.

Subaru has also promoted itself for its range of all-wheel drive models and has launched a new ‘Trade In, Trade Up’ offer. This gives drivers a contribution of £1,000 towards a new Subaru when they trade in their current vehicle. The offer is applicable to customers trading in any type of vehicle, not just those with a Subaru.

The offer is running on all models across the entire Subaru UK model range, including Crosstrek, Forester and Outback. The £1,000 contribution will be added on top of the customer’s trade-in value.