Honda has introduced a new finance package for its Insight hybrid, improving its affordability.

The new package means that drivers can get behind the wheel of one of these low-emission vehicles for just £199 a month with an APR of 5.9 per cent.

Its on-the-road price makes it cheaper than its nearest hybrid competitor by £3,165, Honda says.

The model comes complete with CD audio system, electric folding door mirrors, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, Vehicle Stability Assist and, when the seats are up, 15-inch alloy wheels, 408 litres of boot space.

Tom Gardner, head of marketing at Cars for Honda (UK),said: "Introducing this latest finance package is just another string to the Insight’s affordability bow. It helps customers spread the payments, while also benefiting from the low outright purchase price and low running costs."

The Parker’s annual depreciation report recently announced the Honda Jazz is the best motor for retaining its value.

The best-selling car under the government’s scrappage scheme has taken to the racing track.

Around 20,000 Hyundai i10 cars have been sold since the introduction of the scheme – up 263 per cent in 2009 on the previous year.

But Car Dealer Magazine decided to enter one of them into the national ‘banger’ championship race to see how well it fared.

A Hyundai donated by the company, with just 823 miles on the clock and a list price of £8,885, faced 35 other cars at Wimbledon Stadium.

The interior trim had to be stripped, the glass removed and bumpers thrown away for it to comply with the conditions of the race. But just after just one lap it was shunted into the safety barrier from behind, making its racing experience a short one.

Ironically the car had to be scrapped, being a prototype used for development of the model and training.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recently revealed that new car registrations completed through the scrappage scheme are heading towards 290,000.

Nissan Sunderland Plant is the UK’s largest car producer for the 12th year in a row, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The Sunderland plant manufactured 338,150 units in 2009 – more than a third of the 999,460 passenger cars made in the UK last year.

Its highest volume car was the Qashqai with nearly 200,000 produced, making the figure since the car was launched in 2007 well over half a million.

Trevor Mann, Nissan, senior vice president for manufacturing, Europe, said: "This is good news for everyone at the plant. Credit for the achievement goes to our Sunderland workforce which continues to work extremely hard to meet demand."

He added that the strong performance reflects the continued success of models such as the Qashqai and was confident looking forward saying that Sunderland’s aptitude for making models which suit the market would help it overcome the touch conditions in the industry.

Nissan’s new minicar, the Roox, went on sale last month.

Mazda’s Mazda6 has been given a facelift and the new car will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The upgrade comes complete with improved refinement, cabin ambience, environmental compatibility and safety performance.

Its new 2.0 litre DISI (direct-injection spark ignition) engine makes the car more efficient, reducing carbon emissions.

The revamped model is sportier, with new headlights and rear lights helping to give it a new identity, Mazda says.

Mazda’s MZR-CD 2.2 litre diesel is available in three different power categories, all of them offering better efficiency.

Its five-speed automatic transmission has been fine-tuned for the new petrol model, offering improved acceleration as well as fuel economy.

The Mazda6 will go on sale across Europe in spring 2010.

Also being previewed at the international show is the Mazda5, which will join the Mazda6 facelift on March 2nd 2010 and is also going on sale across Europe later this year.

With the end of the scrappage scheme drawing ever closer and VAT rising back up to 17.5 per cent, BT Yahoo Cars has outlined what could be the cheapest options this year.

Hyundai’s i10, which has been the highest-selling car of the scrappage scheme after selling around 20,000 models so far, is available for £7,760, and is described by the news provider as "a solidly built, five-door supermini for seven grand". It also comes with a five-year warranty.

The Fiat Panda, which seems like it has been around forever, is available for a similar price and couples utilitarianism with style.

Citroen’s C4 was the top family hatchback at a price of £14,395 with the Skoda Superb the top family saloon. Coming in at £16,325, while not technically a saloon, it is described as having an "idiosyncratic" and "quirky" appeal.

The most affordable premium car was the Jaguar X-Type. Starting at just £21,000 it is not cheap, but for its quality dealers will be even more desperate to offload them.

The New Formula Renault 2.0 race car has been put through its paces at the Manor Competition at Pembrey Circuit in South Wales.

Formula Renault UK champion Dean Smith was the man carrying out the test session, piloting the car, which has 210 bhp, at a private session in Newark.

Manor Competition team manager Tony Shaw said: "The test went really well and we’re very happy with the car and its build quality. Dean [Smith] racked up around 75 laps in the new car on a wet track and it ran well throughout."

He added that although there were no official times, he was happy with the session and impressed with the car.

The car will make its competitive debut at the 2010 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship complete with a new chassis, more powerful 2.0-litre engine and a seven-speed paddle-shift sequential gearbox.

It is being constructed at France’s Dieppe Renaultsport factory.

Formula Renault UK is believed to be one of the best single-seater championship manufacturers in the UK after thrusting drivers such as Lewis Hamilton into the limelight.

Volkswagen delivered 20.7 per cent fewer commercial vehicles worldwide in 2009, compared to the previous year.

The manufacturer sold 354,770 light commercial vehicles to customers worldwide – down from 447,244 in 2008.

Selling the most was the Caddy with a total of 139,826, but even this was fewer than in 2008 when the model sold 151,488.

Stephan Schaller, chief executive of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, was optimistic about the situation, despite admitting that the company suffered from the recession, partly due to being excluded from government investment programmes.

In Germany, the company’s home market, it registered just a 0.9 per cent drop in sales.

He said: "Even Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles couldn’t escape the effects of the altered economic climate, but we have increased the distance between ourselves and the competition."

Volkswagen recently unveiled its new compact coupe hybrid car at the Detroit Motor Show which opened earlier this week and runs until January 24th.

Torsten Mueller will take over as Rolls-Royce’s new chief executive from March 2010.

He will take over from the retiring Tom Purves who is stepping down after a distinguished 25 years at the BMW Group.

Mr Purves oversaw the manufacturer’s launch of the Ghost model series and was praised by Rolls-Royce chairman, Ian Robertson, for leaving the company in a strong position as it enters a new decade.

Mr Mueller has led global product management for the group since April 2008 but has spent more than 20 years at the group and managed the re-launching of the iconic MINI brand.

Mr Robertson, who Mr Mueller will continue to report to, said: "He is the perfect candidate to lead Rolls-Royce Motor Cars into a period of expansion – having not only a successful track record as a manager, but also a feel for the unique attributes of a traditional brand."

The Ministry of Defence recently agreed a deal for Rolls-Royce to supply it with jet engines in a partnership worth £865 million.

Mazda will reveal its new Mazda5 at the Geneva International Motor Show in March.

The car will be show on March 2nd and joins two other Mazda models being unveiled at the event.

Going on sale later this year, the car is aimed at European families with active lifestyles.

The vehicle is equipped with rear sliding doors and can fit up to seven seats in the cabin.

It is powered by a new 2.0-litre DISI (direct-injection spark ignition) petrol engine and is an eco-friendly C-MAV choice with 15 per cent lower emissions than other petrol models.

Hideki Matsuoka, Mazda5 programme manager, said: "In approaching development of the all-new Mazda5, our team aimed to create a new C-MAV that combines superb practicality with the superior environmental performance these modern times demand and a new expression in stylish design."

Also being previewed at this year’s Geneva show is the Mitsubishi low-emitting ASX crossover.

Kimi Raikkonen has begun his preparation for the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship in earnest, test driving the Citroen he will use for the championship.

The 2007 Formula 1 World Champion drove the Citroen C4 WRC for around 50 km on a gravel track close to the manufacturers Satory workshops in Paris.

Raikkonen quit Formula 1 in November to take up rallying. The new season will get underway on February 12th in Sweden.

The 30-year-old is Citroen’s most recent addition to its junior team and will compete in the Arctic Lapland Rally on January 28th as a warm up for the World Rally Championship next month.

He said: "It was good to try out a few different things; I was very interested to see how the car reacted when you changed some of the settings."

"Now, I’m really keen to get back behind the wheel of the C4 again," he added.