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Weekly round-up: upcoming autonomous vehicles, the must-have options for your lease car and Audi A5 driven

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Author: | Updated: 19 Aug 2016 12:33

Team GB has continued to excel this week and, with the games soon over, things are looking good for the UK, thanks to a medal haul that’s pushed them into second place overall. Back at home, things have been as busy as ever in the automotive world, with news coming in thick and fast.

So without further ado, here’s our weekly round-up of the important automotive happenings during the last seven days.

Top left clockwise: Volvo-Uber self driving car, Audi A5, Ford Mondeo self driving Hybrid, 2017 Range Rover

Efficiency order of the day

Think of Range Rover, and efficiency isn’t the first word that springs to mind, but the upcoming 2017 Range Rover Sport sees a 2.0-litre diesel engine available for the first time.

The older SDV6 unit remains available, but this smaller, four-cylinder engine reduces C02 output considerably and takes fuel consumption from 37mpg up to 45.6mpg.

The Sport doesn’t just boast a new engine, as the two-tonne four-wheel drive now comes with several semi-autonomous driving aids which, as you’d expect from Range Rover, are there to make off-road driving and towing easier.

New Honda Civic will be available in the UK from early next year

Across the pond, Honda unveiled the upcoming Honda Civic hatchback to the American public. Looking more angular and futuristic than the current Civic (if that’s actually possible), we’ll have to wait until early next year for it over in Europe.

For the speed freaks amongst you, good news comes from the fact we won’t have to wait too long for a Type R variant of the new Civic and, if it’s anything like its forebear, it’ll be stupendously quick.

Autonomous arms race

The biggest news of the week comes from Silicon Valley, where it seems numerous tech companies are gearing up for the self-driving future of cars. First, Ford announced that it’ll be doubling the size of its Californian research centre, with the goal of launching a fully driverless car by 2021.

Where it's happening: Silicon Valley is home to lots of the research and development going into autonomous cars

Ford has also partnered up with several start up companies to help create its first fully autonomous car, which will be based on the Fusion Hybrid platform (we know it over here as the Mondeo Hybrid).

Driverless taxis

In what could appear to be an arms race, Volvo has also set out its plans to team up with tech and taxi giant Uber, also with ambitions of creating a driverless vehicle.

Rumours have been floated that Uber is already planning to try out some driverless cars in the next few months so, if you’re thinking of becoming an Uber driver, you might want to consider something else…

The current Volvo S90 is already features some of the most advanced autonomous driving aids available

As for Volvo, it plans to use the collaborative creation to eventually create its own self-driving car. With its new S90 featuring already featuring a semi-autonomous mode so, if anyone can create an autonomous vehicle, it’s Volvo.

On your marks

If you’re an ambler gambler, this one could be for you. Our final technology-related story of the week comes again from America, and this time it’s Audi’s turn. Their engineers have developed a system that lets the car and traffic lights communicate.

Audi has come up with a system that can read traffic lights in built up areas

This might sound a little odd but, thanks to a number of network connections, the car’s driver information system is able to tell the driver when the lights will turn to green and vice versa. Audi say this new gismo is aimed at making life safer and cutting congestion problems in big cities. We’ll have to see how it goes…

and everything else…

When we’re not breaking the news, we’re busy driving the latest cars and writing guides and articles to help you out, and it’s been non-stop this week. Firstly, Phil Huff has been out and about in the latest Audi A5.

New Audi A5 is ideal motorway cruiser

Meanwhile, Al Suttie has had a look at the sobering stats of drink driving. While it’s apparently on the decrease overall, more and more people are being caught behind the wheel after they’ve had a drink.

We’ve also been considering another crime – think of car clocking and you may think of the dodgy second-hand salesmen of the past, but it’s still very much alive, and something that can pose problems for leasing companies.

And finally, here’s a rundown of what we think are the must-have optional extras when it comes to speccing up your lease car. You might not have picked the car yet, let alone the options, but don’t forget to find the best personal and business deals on the internet.

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