Ford has its Focus ECOnetic. VW has its Golf Bluemotion. But instead of developing ever ‘cleaner’ diesels, Honda has gone down the hybrid highway.

Happily, FIAT has now decided to stick with what it’s good at: small cars. And the decision could not have come at a better time.

By Martin Gurdon.

Neither Honda nor Toyota expected the Thais to buy a small hatchback. The market in Thailand for this size of car was saloons. And if you asked Thais before 2003 they’d have confirmed that they didn’t like the look of hatchbacks.

This is the new, leaner, greener Avensis. With new, more powerful, and higher revving, yet more economical, lower emission petrol engines, while diesel engines develop more torque at lower revs to give better real world economy.

“I-Cute” doesn’t quite ring true. Pretty, it isn’t.

There’s a startling fact in the Audi presentation document for its new Q5.

The latest incarnation of the Mazda 6 has always been an impressive car. Very handsome, and easily confused in the mind, with the Honda Accord. You have to look twice to be sure which is which.

At the time of writing I don’t know if the new Megane was voted European Car of the Year.

As you may well have read or seen elsewhere www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=305, I have a FIAT 500. And I’m not going to pretend the new Ford Ka has nothing in common with it.