5 Star Xtreme Flat Black Urethane Paint Kit - 8001 on 2040-parts.com

Which car has the best residual value? A MINI

The MINI has the lowest depreciation of any car in the UK When it comes to buying a car, many of us decide how much we can afford to spend and then go and look for a car that fits our budget. But what we should really be looking at is how the car we want will be worth in the future – its residual value. Because the residual value of your car is often where the biggest costs lies, and it has a major impact on monthly payments if you decide to acquire your nice new car on a contract hire or leasing deal.

2014 BMW X3 Facelift and more efficient engines

The 2014 BMW X3 (pictured) gets a facelift and new engines The current version of the BMW X3 SUV has been with us for more than three years, so BMW are giving it a bit of a mid-cycle facelift and more frugal engines to keep the X3 on top of its – very successful – game. Engines on offer for the 2014 X3 include the 2.0 litre diesel in the sDrive18d which offers 148bhp and 56.8mpg and the 187bhp in the X3 xDrive20d which returns 52.3mpg, the xDrive30d – which gets the 3.0 litre diesel unit – with 254bhp and 47.9mpg and the X3 xDrive35 which has an impressive 309bhp but still manages official economy of 47.1mpg. When it comes to the cosmetic facelift bits, BMW hasn’t really pushed the boat out, but the new X3 does get a new headlight design which is sleeker, new front and rear bumpers and a new surround for the kidney grill, which all contrive to make the new X3 look even more like a baby X5.

Aston Martin and Mercedes tie-up over Lagonda

Probably the biggest surprise of the Geneva Motor Show was the arrival of the Lagonda Concept. Although the revival of the Lagonda Marque had been much speculated upon, particularly with Lagonda celebrating its 100 year car making anniversary this year (an all the marketing opportunities that offers) no one had seen a super-luxo SUV on the horizon. Lagonda Concept - Based on the Mercedes Benz GL Most car journos attending, us included, did react fairly negatively.