AN X2 SEE

This is the BMW X2, the latest addition to BMW’s SUV line-up. It will be launched at the LA motor show and go on sale next year.

Based on the same platform that’s used for the Mini, the X2 is aimed, according to BMW, at a younger buyer than the other X models (all SUV makers fantasise about young buyers but in truth the average age of a new car buyer in the UK is around 50).

The X2 will be available in all the usual BMW trim levels and with a selection of current power units, with the option of two and fourwheel drive. Prices from £33,980. Mercedes has announced prices for its new S-Class Coupe. It’s one of the manufacturer’s best-looking motors and one of its most expensive with prices starting at £103,715 for the entry level S560 and finishing at £189,615 for the S65.

These big coupes depreciate at a cataclysmic rate and don’t take long to arrive in the bargain basement. These modern cars are even more complex than earlier big Benz coupes and could be a nightmare to maintain.

On December 4 the new driving test comes into force – out goes reversing around a corner and the three-point turn. They’ll be replaced by bay and parallel parking, and another reversing manoeuvre. I’d have thought adding skills such as night and wet-weather driving would be more useful. The change also involves following a satnav – a skill young drivers should have no problem with.