The ‘small, yet mighty’ Picanto is seen leaping through the streets alongside a rather cute, acrobatic cat. The advert concludes with a confrontation between the cat and a fierce looking dog. I won’t spoil the ending for you just in case you haven’t seen it.

It’s a nice looking car too with ‘an eco friendly engine,’ which is always an attractive prospect these days with the worry of global warming and despite its compact size its crammed with the latest driving technology from electronic stability control and voice activated Bluetooth.

KIA are pretty confident about the quality of the new Picanto and as they say in the advert, all purchases of the car come with an impressive seven year warranty. Check it out in action below.

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Introducing The Small Yet Mighty Kia Picanto is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

Nissan are trying to change that though, with the genius titled Nissan Leaf, a brand new fully electronic car. Some of us will think it’s a wonderful step forward for eco-friendly transport, and others will be put off by some of the myths surrounding electronic cars. You know the ones, ‘it’ll be too expensive’, ‘it will run out of juice every five minutes,’ that sort of thing.

In an attempt to change our minds and debunk some of the electric car myths Nissan have made a series of video about the Leaf tacking some of the common misconceptions, the first being the misconception an electronic car will die on the way to work.

In the first of the videos some doubters who demoed the Leaf, having managed to last a week on one charge, the doubters are converted. Check it out below and see if Nissan can change your mind and prove that electric cars are a genuine alternative to petrol or diesel powered cars, or at least for those of us who live in big cities which actually have power-points.

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Nissan Leaf: The 100% Electronic Car is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

The Sport Cross vehicle, where “all-wheel drive agility and handling meets turbo charged performance,” cruises through the streets in an advert reminiscent of a channel four teen drama.

Though not cool as giant paintballs the Juke advert features bank robbers, transvestites, creepy toys, romance and a haunting rendition of a nursery rhyme.

If that doesn’t interest you then give it a watch just to check out the exciting little red car, which has a name a lot catchier and easier to pronounce than its big brother the QASHQA, in action.

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Nissan Juke Gets Its Own Advert is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

So is there a correlation between ‘Joy of life’ and the Megane? Watch the video below to find out. In some humorous scenes ‘Claude’ arranges a carnival in which Meganes can be test driven to bring out the hidden ‘Joie de vivire’ of Gisburn. Despite the rain 300 of the 500 residents of Gisburn turned up so Renault may have sold some more meganes since the campaign, I mean brought in some more ‘Joie de vivire.’ It’s certainly worth a look. The film was directed by Oscar-nominated director Henry-Alex Rubin, who shot 48 hours of film over five days and described Claude as a “French Borat with a heart.” Check out the video below:

And if you head over to www.themeganeexperiment.com you can check out the differences between Gisburn and Menton including Menton having been the location of a James Bond film and having no rich tea fans whilst Gisburn with no Bond film has 40% of its residents munching on the boring biscuits. You can also check out your own towns ‘Vivre’ rating and of course, book a test drive.

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The Renault Megane Experiment: Can a Car Change a Town? is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

In the party named subject60 (after the S60) Volvo and their friends capture such shocking behaviour as people trampling on some flowers, trying to blag their way into a VIP area and snogging in a car! The rather impressive study spanned five different cities (Berlin, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan) and conducted 35 separate experiments on no less than 3062 participants to test their naughtiness.

27 hours of research concluded that Paris is the naughty capital of Europe. Another devastating loss for England this summer.

Check out the video below to see some of the antics:

If you want to see more of the Volvo experiments head over to http://naughty.volvocars.co.uk/ where you can also design your own S60.

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New ‘Naughty’ Volvo S60: Find the Naughtiest City in Europe is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

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As BMW strive to create the zero emissions vehicles of tomorrow, forty electric MINI E cars have been handed over to their test drivers, who are all members of the public. This field trial will evaluate the psychological, social and technical aspects of living with an electric car. The findings will be used to help guide power providers, policy makers and component manufacturers in their decision making about the cars of the future.

“This is a historic day for MINI and for the BMW Group” said Tim Abbott, Managing Director of BMW Group (UK). “It is fitting that the brand with its inspiration in the oil crisis of the 1950s is again at the forefront of energy efficiency with a car that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.”

The front wheel drive, two-seater MINI E uses a single-stage helical gearbox which powers the MINI E seamlessly to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 95 mph. Although based on the familiar MINI Hatch the MINI E is a two-seater because the space normally used by rear passengers is reserved for the lithium-ion battery.

This state-of-the-art rechargeable battery unit combines high output with ample storage capacity and a remarkable power output. A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid. Each kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles giving the MINI E a theoretical range of over 150 miles.

With the possibility to extend the car’s range by up to 20 per cent, as soon as the driver lifts his or her foot off the accelerator pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator. This results in braking force and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery.

Electric MINI E Trials Start in Oxford, UK is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

The most notable visual change to the Qashqai is at the front which has been completely redesigned. There is an all new bonnet, front bumper, wings, grille and headlamps. The new front-end design is shared with Qashqai+2.

The rear of the car remains similar to before but has some aerodynamic changes. A more transparent lens design has been adopted, with the upper portion, housing the reversing lights and indicators, being clear, while the lower section with the brake and nighttime running lights, is red.

Nissan want to ensure that the Qashqai remains a top seller in the UK and so prices remain competitive. Complete with its new styling and dynamic enhancements, the entry-level model costs £15,395, while ownership of a diesel powered Qashqai is available from £16,795.

New Nissan Qashqai For 2010 is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

This isn’t the first time the new Polo has been recognised for it excellence. This year it has already been named Best Car 2009 by “auto motor sport” magazine and just a few days ago it won the Auto Trophy by “Autozeitung”, the German language automobile enthusiast magazine.

“The new Polo stands for German engineering craftsmanship and superior cutting edge technology. The fifth generation Polo was designed to address customer expectations with even greater uncompromising standards. That is why we are naturally very pleased to see our efforts validated in the form of this award,” says Professor Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management, Volkswagen Group.

Polo is Car of the Year 2010 is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars

Laguna: Priced from just £19,995 on-the-road, the Coupé TomTom also includes Arkamys 3D Sound 140W audio system with MP3 CD reader and Bluetooth, 18 inch ‘Interlagos’ alloy wheels, eight airbags, automatic lights and wipers, dual zone climate control, electric heated door mirrors, MP3 player connection, rear parking sensors, Super Fold rear seat system and xenon headlights.

Renault is keen to point out that the Coupé TomTom undercuts its rivals, the BMW 320d SE by a significant £8,535 (£28,530 OTR) and Peugeot 407 Sport HDi 163 by £2,995 (£22,990 OTR).

The Carminat TomTom is a built-in navigation solution co-developed with Renault which includes features such as: a large “birdview” 5.8 inch screen, reliable navigation under all circumstances, traffic news with alternative itinerary, speed limits and numerous points of interest.

Megane: The new entry-level Mégane Sport Tourer Extreme launches with two models the 1.6 petrol and 1.5 dCi diesel, costing £14,935 and £16,685 respectively.

There is a generous level of equipment on offer, with a 4×15W radio RDS CD system with AUX input, air conditioning, ESP, Renault keycard and front electric windows all as standard.

As with the Laguna, Renault is happy to point out that the Megane undercuts its rivals, the Ford Focus Estate Style 1.6 Duratec 100PS by a considerable £3,010 (£17,945 OTR) and theVolkswagen’s New Golf S Estate 1.2 TSI by £1,445 (£16,380 OTR).

Renault Launches Special Edition Laguna Coupe and New Megane Sport Tourer Extreme is a post from: Reviews 4 Cars