All the latest new car reveals, consumer issues and best deals
Limitedrun Ford Fiesta ST Ford Performance Edition revealed
One of Britain's mostloved hot hatches has been enhanced with a new limitededition guise.
This is the Ford Fiesta ST Ford Performance Edition which, as the name suggests, has been treated to a full suite of upgrades from the manufacturer's performance parts catalogue.
Emblazoned in an unmissable 'Deep Orange' paintwork, this hot hatch is based on ST3 trim with the Performance Pack comprising the widely regarded Quaife limitedslip differential, launch control, and performance shift light indicators.
Added to that is the introduction of 18inch Ford Performance alloy wheels said to be seven kilograms lighter than the standardfit items along with a new coilover suspension pack. This upgraded suspension has been honed on the famed Nurburgring racetrack in Germany and lowers the car by 15mm at the front and 10mm at the rear. It also has manually adjustable bump and rebound settings, allowing owners to finetune the driving experience.
Its ST3 roots mean the Ford Performance Edition benefits from standardfit LED headlights plus a B&O audio system.
Deliveries are scheduled for September and just 600 examples of the UKexclusive car will be sold.
Drivers warned that signalblocking key pouches 'may not always work'
Motorists are being warned that signalblocking pouches and boxes designed to thwart hitech car thieves may not work as advertised.
The devices, sometimes called Faraday pouches, have become popular to combat socalled relay theft where thieves boost the signal from a car's keyless entry fob to get into the vehicle without the key.
The pouches contain a wire mesh, known as a Faraday cage, that can block radio signals from the keyless entry system. However, some thefts have been carried out when the keys were in the pouches. On cheaper items, it's possible to damage the mesh through constantly taking the keys in and out. Others don't have protection applied to all their compartments.
A spokesperson for security firm Thatcham Research told Auto Express that owners should be cautious when shopping for a Faraday pouch. "We have tested a few of the pouches and the ones we've assessed have worked, but we can't guarantee they all will.
"Some pouches have two pockets, for example, only one of which will block signals, while there are so many on the market it's simply not possible for us to test them all."
Owners are advised to test a device's ability to block signals before using it, which they can do by standing next to their car and ensuring it doesn't unlock.
Some manufacturers are also taking steps to ensure that their cars are safe from relay theft. Ford, for example, recently introduced a 'sleep mode' feature to its key fobs ensuring they can't be cloned and only work when the driver wants them to.
Number of plugin cars rose by threequarters in 2018
The number of plugin hybrid and fully electric cars rose by 76.6 per cent in 2018, according to new data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The data shows that there are now 195,410 plugin vehicles on UK roads. Ownership of alternativelyfuelled vehicles (AFVs) also rose by 30 per cent, meaning that combined there are more than 620,000 hybrids, plugin hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell and fully electric cars in the UK.
That's still a fraction of the total, though there are now 34.9 million cars registered in the UK. It's a diverse bunch, too, with 1,600 model ranges and almost 68,000 different specifications registered.
The increase in popularity of AFVs, combined with advancements in petrol and diesel engines, means that the average CO2 levels across manufacturer fleets have fallen to the lowest on record. They've been reduced by 17.8 per cent compared with 2008 143.9g/km compared to 175.1g/km.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: "Thanks to massive investment from manufacturers in delivering a wide range of models across all fuel types, to suit all driving needs, environmental gains are now being delivered across the UK. Evermore advanced in technology makes every new generation of vehicle more efficient than the last, and this is filtering rapidly from the new car market into the broader parc.
"Fleet renewal is proven to work so we need a worldclass package of incentives and infrastructure to give motorists the confidence to buy the latest, cleanest cars, whatever the fuel type, in the greater numbers we need to meet environmental challenges."
The SMMT's data also shows that female car ownership is at a record high. 2018's level rose by 1.4 per cent compared to 2017, and now more than 12 million of the UK's cars are owned by women.
Diversity may be rife in ownership, but the data shows that the UK is still an unimaginative bunch when it comes to car colours. The top five is almost totally monochrome, with silver, black, grey and white the most popular choices. Blue does nip into third place, however.