Car Throttle

With the roaring success of the DS3 already under Citroen's belt and an admittedly average post-launch reception of the DS4 last year, the French manufacturer is attempting to get back on track with their third release in the DS range, the new DS5. We attended a launch event at SMMT's HQ in Westminster to find out a little more about the car and how it aims to captivate through design. According to Andy Cowell, the British-born designer of the DS5, launching this D-segment competitor has been similar in emotion to the release of a musician's third album; the first tending to break an artist, the second catapulting them into A-list limelight, and the third cementing their status as an icon. Whilst the DS4 compact hasn't been

Even though the recent recession fatally wounded parts of the industry and fossil fuels running dry will threaten its future, the world of cars is still very much alive and kicking. There is such a variety of new products coming out this year ranging from affordable city cars you'll actually want to own, to ridiculously expensive supercars you'll lust after, old school coupes to revolutionary family cars, petrol engines to plug-in electric motors. The list is almost endless. So to help fellow car lovers and "new kids on the block" out, here's a round-up of 33 cars we can't wait to see in 2012 in order of release date. January 2012 Kia Optima It's been available around the world for a while but the Kia Optima

The hike in price for tuition fees will mean getting into Uni next year will be tough. Renault understands the struggle and to help out they're giving one lucky student the chance to win one year's worth of tuition fees. The competition involves putting the artistic touch to Renault's forthcoming car, the Twizy, which is an all electric two-seater. All you have to do is visit www.designatwizy.co.uk, download the template to suit the software you have installed and let all your design inspiration invade it. You can enter as many designs as you like as long as they're uploaded before February 20th 2012. All entrants must be aged 17 or older and either registered or officially accepted at a further education establishment such as a college

Once the Megane range gets a mid-life face lift in April, we will be saying bye-bye to the 250 and a big hello to the new 265. It's Renault's latest record breaking hot hatch to hit our roads with a lap time of 8 minutes and 8 seconds around the Nurburgring which makes it the fastest front-wheel drive car ever to go round the famous German track. Thanks to the new 'Renaultsport Dynamic Management' system, the new 265's 2.0L Turbo will produce 261bhp and 265lb ft of torque meaning a 0-60mph time of around six seconds and a top speed of 160mph. All that is available once you've pushed the 'Sport' button, with the car acting calm and civilised, "ish", in normal mode. Renault have

We've prayed, we've hoped and Honda have responded. You can buy your very own CR-Z Mugen, one very quick hybrid, from next year. Car Throttle had the opportunity to take the CR-Z Mugen prototype for a quick test drive at the SMMT test day back in October as well other test cars (which you can check out here) and it was the most fun Adnan had that day. This little Honda coupe is fast. It can go from 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds thanks to a rebuilt 1.5L IMA engine from Mugen which pumps out 200hp and 158lb-ft of torque. This is much better than the standard car and you can check out our review of that here. Mugen also changed the suspension to improve

One of the stars of this year's Frankfurt Motor Show was the smallest car there, the Volkswagen Up. This is VW's latest city car replacing the old Fox and challenging rivals such as the Ford Ka, Fiat 500 and Citroen C1. The big news now though is that Volkswagen have made a GT version of the Up that promises to bring back the spirit of the Mk 1 Golf GTI, a small, fast and cheap hot hatch. This little VW comes with wider front grille to help more air get to the engine which promises to produce around 100bhp. Attached to each side of the wider front grille are cooling ducts which have the job of keeping the brakes chilled and also house the LED daytime

Hatchbacks are for the most part a dirty word in the United States, but over in Europe they are a thriving section of the automotive market - and enthusiasts community. We've waxed and waned on Car Throttle about how any car with an added door on the back - wagon or hatch - is pretty much doomed to failure. This writer isn't a particular fan of all of them either, but there are exceptions. They can be cool - witness Renault and its Megane Renaultsport. For now though, that is a car we can only drive in games like Need For Speed and Gran Turismo. The top tog in the Megane stable is the Renaultsport 250. As its name implies, it makes 250 horsepower. Renault

The world's filled with boring, mundane, unremarkable automobiles. For every SVO Mustang, there are 10,000 Camry LE's.  For every Alfa Romeo Guilia Super sedan, there are an untold bazillion Honda Fits.  That's just how it is: mainstream sells.  As it turns out, very few people actually want the diesel, all wheel drive, manual-transmission station wagon that internet car enthusiasts say would sell like hotcakes. Sometimes, though, some of the most interesting cars out there are born out of some of the most dishwater-dull transportation appliances.  Here's my top ten - as always, feel free to leave a comment telling me what I left out at the bottom!  On we go. 10) Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Mitsubishi's Galant sedan is... hold on, let me go to Wikipedia, I can't

If you're a car guy, chances are one of your past times is Craigslist. The free online classified ad website that has been running since 1996 is the perfect place to find everything from a sitter, to a new dog, to furniture, to your soul mate, to... a car!  Heck, my last car came from craigslist - friendly, knowledgeable seller, cool car, good price.  And while most stuff on craigslist is a bit normal ("2003 Camry, Grey, 86k, call Jeff...") occasionally you'll find something cool.  Here's what turned up with a quick perusal of my local CL. Don't tell me you're not tempted.  What is this heap?  Why, it's an Alfa Romeo Milano!  And what the hell is that?  Well, it was Alfa's competitor

The French seem to revel and specialize in the bizarre and unexplainable when it comes to cars. It seems to be their USP, if you will.  Citroens with single-spoke steering wheels and bizarre hydropneumatic spheres for suspension.  Peugeots with giant gaping-maw grilles and 8-foot-long noses.  Renault hatchbacks with powerful engines stuffed where the rear seats used to go, driving the rear wheels through massive boxed-out fenders.  So of course their concept cars are equally bizarre, perhaps just for the sake of being bizarre.  It seems at every major European auto show, one of the french manufacturers debuts an impossibly exotic mid-engined sports car that runs on cheese and Galois cigarettes, or has a jet engine sticking out of one tail light, or god knows what. Continuing that