New Car: 2008 FIAT Siena

60 projects after little more than studied and two years and way of work, at last, Fiat Brazil launched the new generation of the Siena. Although its lines to be bolder and different of the found ones in Palio, the model still counts on the trend of style baptized for the mark of family feeling, also found in the Punto and future in the Linea - yes, Fiat disclosed officially that the sedan will arrives a year later which the new Siena clearly was inspired by. The model will have two versions of finishing and four types of engine;ELX (1.0 l, 1.4 l and 1.4 l Tetrafuel) and HLX (1.8 l). With a new it would carroceria, it received an identity proper. Its wider bumpers pass the impression of a bigger vehicle. The chromium plating, that is present in almost all the car and will be serial in the four offered versions, can be found in the frame of the grating and the lighthouses. The back is higher than of the previous generation, counts now on horizontal lanterns that go of the cover of the trunk until the lateral. Frisos also chromed is part of the posterior pára-shock, beyond the frame that involves new logotipo of the mark, placed in the center of the back cover. The renewed interior has coated fabric banks with discreter colors, stock markets in the behind part of the seats and one third support of regulable head. In the entrance version, the ELX, the panel of instruments have speedometer, count-turns, gradual marker of temperature with deep black color and a digital display that shows temperature, kilometrage, level of fuel and clock. The finishing is equal in the versions equipped with propellant 1.0 l, 1.4 l or 1.4 l Tetrafuel. The ELX counts on a vast list that serial equipment, as projecting with height regulation, has consoled central office with door-objects, door-cups, mirror in the pára-sun of the driver and the passenger, lateral Follow Me Home system.Equipment more looked by the customers as COMPACT DISC to player MP3/WMA, ABS, glasses and electric constraints, air-conditional hydraulical direction and however, continues being optional. The new Siena will have four options of motorization; 1.0 ELX Flex, 8 cv more powerful, that relieve 73 cv supplied with gasoline and 75 cv with alcohol; 1,4 ELX Flex, with 5 cv more than the previous version, being with 85 cv (gasoline) and 86 cv (alcohol); 1.4 ELX Tetrafuel with 80 cv (gasoline and gasoline without alcohol), 81 cv (alcohol) and 68 cv (GNV); 1.8 e HLX Flex capable to develop 112 cv with gasoline and 114 cv with alcohol. The new Siena was presented to the press and they evaluated the 1.4 version ELX Flex which can do little more than 40 km on 1 tank of fuel. Sales in January to October of this year, Fiat sold 71,219 units, a average of 7,000 vehicles a month.

With the new generation, the mark intends to have a growth around 26% 31% in 2008. To increase its participation in the market, that today is of 26%, the assembly plant intends to invest to R$ 5 billion 2008 to 2010, passing its production of 700 000 to 1 million of cars each year. The Siena will arrive on the market from 14th November and will not have any changes to the price for the entry level model.

1.0 Fire Flex - R$ 28,920

1.0 ELX Flex - R$ 33,660

1.4 ELX Flex - R$ 36,600

1.4 ELX Tetrafuel - R$ 44,960

1.8 HLX Flex - R$ 44,850

Audi Q7 Hybrid on sale by late 2008

Petrol/electric hybrid Audi SUV waits in the wings as new cleaner, more economical TDI engine joins the range

Updated TDI engine first seen in A5 coupe is adopted by Q7, bringing reduced emissions, increased power and torque and improved performance

Revised Q7 3.0 TDI quattro available to order now in standard, SE and S line trim priced from £38,075 OTR to £41,475 OTR

240PS@4,000rpm, 550Nm from 1,750rpm to 2,750rpm, 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds, top speed 134mph, 34.9mpg, CO2 260g/km

Working Q7 petrol/electric hybrid prototype reduces consumption and emissions by over 20 per cent – production version is expected to go on sale in certain markets towards the end of 2008

The seven-seat Audi Q7 SUV benefits from a ‘win-win’ upgrade this week courtesy of a new version of its 3.0-litre V6 TDI engine which brings lower emissions, higher power and torque and improved performance and fuel economy.

The even more efficient 2008 Model Year Q7 3.0 TDI quattro, which is also now equipped with an exhaust-cleansing Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), is available for order in standard, SE and S line trim priced from £38,075 OTR. It forms part of a Q7 development programme which also includes petrol/electric hybrid versions that slash fuel consumption and emissions by over 20 per cent.

Featuring an advanced common rail direct fuel injection system using sophisticated piezoelectric quartz crystal technology, the upgraded V6 TDI engine benefits from enhancements that boost combined cycle fuel economy in the Q7 3.0 TDI quattro from 33.6mpg to 34.9mpg, reduce CO2 output from 279g/km to 260g/km and bring down the 0-62mph time by 0.6 seconds to 8.5 seconds. Power rises from 233PS to 240PS, delivered at 4,000rpm, and torque increases from 500Nm to an even healthier 550Nm, available from just 1,750rpm.

Diesel is of course far from the only source of responsibly delivered power to be championed by the Vorsprung durch Technik brand. As well as exploring the possibilities opened up by second generation ‘future fuels’ such as the biomass-to-liquid (BTL) SunFuel, Audi is also testing fully operational prototypes running on bioethanol (E85), CNG (compressed natural gas) and petrol/electric hybrid power.

Q7 hybrid reduces consumption and emissions by over 20 per cent.

The Q7 hybrid is expected to go on sale in its first markets towards the end of 2008, combining its familiar 280PS 3.6-litre FSI petrol engine with an electric motor situated in the drivetrain powered by a 288-volt nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery, which adds a further 51PS. The Q7 hybrid reduces fuel consumption, and therefore C02 output, by approximately 23 per cent compared with the Q7 3.6 FSI as we know it today.

Designed in a parallel configuration in which all major assemblies are arranged in line, helping to reduce weight and energy loss, the 3.6-litre FSI V6 with its 375 Nm torque peak is boosted by up to 285Nm by the electric motor. Channelled via a six-speed tiptronic gearbox and through the quattro four-wheel-drive system with asymmetric 40% front / 60% rear torque split, this joint output enables a 0-62mph acceleration time of just 7.6 seconds (standard Q7 3.6 FSI 8.5 seconds) and combined fuel consumption of 28.8mpg (standard Q7 3.6 FSI 22.2mpg). The Q7 3.6 FSI’s 309g/km output is reduced to 237g/km thanks to the electric motor and a number of revisions to ancillaries such as the power steering pump.

Fundamentally, three driving modes are possible. The FSI engine and the electric motor can each work on their own as the drive unit, or the vehicle can combine the power of the two for acceleration. In this mode, the petrol engine is responsible for basic operation, whereby it also needs to supply energy to the battery.

Recuperation conserves energyThe electric motor on the other hand can operate independently and almost inaudibly at speeds of up to 30mph, considerably reducing exhaust and noise emissions in built up areas. It is also able to feed kinetic energy back into the system and so recharge the battery when the vehicle is braked or coasting. During this operation, known as recuperation, the motor reverses its function to become an alternator.

The capacity of the NiMH battery allows the vehicle to be driven up to 1.2 miles on purely electrical power – coasting and braking feed additional energy into the system. When the capacity limit of the battery has been reached, the combustion engine is activated to recharge the battery. Through regeneration measures such as these, the Audi Q7 hybrid recuperates about 720 kWh of energy a year – approximately a sixth of what a four-person household uses – based on an average of 12,000 miles per annum.

If the Audi Q7 hybrid is coasting without the accelerator pedal being depressed, the combustion engine is switched off – this is possible at speeds up to 74mph. It is also switched off if the vehicle remains stationary for more than three seconds. To continue the journey, all the driver has to do is to remove his foot from the brake and to depress the accelerator pedal again.

Like the standard Q7, the hybrid also has space for three rows of seats and a large luggage compartment. The battery system that supplies energy to the electric motor is located in the spare wheel recess at the rear of the vehicle. Compared to earlier generations of hybrid vehicles, the electric motor and the battery are extremely lightweight. The battery weighs 69 kg and the hybrid module with the electric motor 40 kg.