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Recently, I blogged on two reviews involving the Ford Fiesta ST and Peugeot 208 GTI. Now, Auto Express U.K. made a triple-threat match by pitting the Fiesta ST and 208 GTI against Renault Clio RS. In the previous reviews, the Fiesta ST was clearly preferred over its French rival. Can the American pocket rocket do it again? Like the other two members in this group test, the Clio RS is powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine which is good for 200bhp and 240Nm of torque. However, it is the only car here with a twin-clutch six-speed automatic transmission. The Clio RS also takes the podium for being the priciest among the trio. Auto Express drives the cars through hundreds of miles over a range of routes ranging from motorways to towns to pick a winner. The Clio is the best in the drag race while the Fiesta is the fastest round the track.

One of my favourite cars is going to get a new face, the Volvo C30 to be precise. The Swedish company has decided to steer clear from emulating their German rivals and its main man, Stefan Jacoby say that this new model will be quintessentially Swedish in terms of its design.. And I'm looking forward to that! It'll be like Ikea with wheels I suppose. The most distinct difference between its old model and the new one will be that it comes with 5 doors instead of 3. This move is meant to make the C30 more practical and more desirable for family men. Their most important goal though is to compete with the other manufacturers like Ford, Volkswagen and Vauxhall (Opel to us in Singapore) who have well established their place in the world of hot-hatches. Since Jacoby intends to keep things Swedishly simple in the new C30, he says that things will be elegant and minimalistic on both the exterior and the interior, but with 'more interesting choice of materials'. I wonder what that really means.. Also, technology in the car is said to be inspired by Apple so I would expect more minimalism fused with style on the tech front. Everything that was 'bad' about the C30 is now under a revamp. While the old car's rear seats were cramped and with a rubbish boot, the new car will come with more rear passenger space and larger luggage capacity. Not much news has been released about the engines though, but the current one is already rather perky and fun to drive around. By the looks of it, I feel like I already want one. The model is set to be released in 2012. [photos courtesy of autoexpress.co.uk]

This is Audi's latest attempt to dump the Mini from its pedestal as the world's greatest small/compact/hatchback. The supermini market is starting to heat up with the new Fiat 500, the evergreen Mini Cooper, and now theres the Audi A1. Now that it has finally revealed itself to the world, apart from its teaser videos and the innovative day time running lights which do not appear as LED dots anymore, this is a serious hit. Well the first thing I noticed was the oddly coloured A to C pillar roof arch which I assume that is Audi's attempt to make the A1 a little less serious than the rest of cars in its stable. Apparently you can have that in various colours and that may seem like Audi's trying a little too hard, but its a nice-to-have option. The R8 inspired day time running lights is simply genius on a car like this as it adds an upmarket feel to the A1. And that interior which is said to be inspired by aeroplanes, that's obvious if you notice the jet-turbine-like air con vents which gives the car a cool retro feel but I think its still doesn't give as retro a vibe as the Mini does. The A1 is set to be well spec-ed too with Audi's 'infotainment' system which is usually meant for the bigger boys, apparently there will be 20GB in the car's hard drive for music and satellite navigation and it comes with a Bose sound system. I doubt that will ever make it to Singapore since we see very little of the gadgetry that is made standard in Europe, nevertheless, its still better to hope! As for the heart of the A1, its either a 1.4TFSi with 120bhp, capable of 0-100km/h in 9.2 seconds, or 9.1 with the optional flappy-paddle gearbox. The other, is the entry level 1.2TFSI which churns out 85bhp. There's going to be an S-line version of the A1 and a 5 door version, but these will be available at a later date. On an ending note, aeroplane inspired interior? That's like slapping Saab in the face but as a whole, I think the A1 will not disappoint.