With a first, second and sixth place in the overall truck ranking, Iveco dominated the 33rd Dakar, the world's most important rally, where most of the European and Asian Truck OEMs participated. The Petronas De Rooy Iveco team won the rally with the Dutchman Gerard De Rooy, driving an Iveco Powerstar, a vehicle produced and sold by Iveco in Australia. The Iveco Powerstar was equipped with an FPT Industrial C13 engine, with more than 900 horsepower, and Magneti Marelli parts. Behind De Rooy, the other pilots of the team, Stacey and Biasion drove two Iveco Trakker Evolution 2s, also equipped with the same engine. The three vehicles, while adapted to the extreme conditions of the rally, were standard trucks optimised for best-in-class energy efficiency.

The "Best Buy" award was given to Swift Sport which will go on sale in United Kingdom starting 16th of January 2012. The new Suzuki Swift Sport cost less then 15.000 GBP and offers very high equipment including air conditioning, cruise control, USB port, Bluetooth connectivity, rear privacy glass, 17" alloy wheels with metallic paint finish. As standard, Suzuki Swift Sport comes with HID Projector headlamps for low and high beam - a feature that is often listed as a cost option on more expensive cars, ESP, 7 airbags (including curtain and a driver's knee airbag), body pillars with shock-absorbing materials.

The Boxster has an all-new lightweight body, new flat-six engines with direct petrol injection, a completely revised chassis and evolutionary styling. Considerably lower weight, a longer wheelbase, widened track and larger wheels significantly enhance the driving dynamics of the mid-engined sports car. These attributes, combined with many other new features including electro-mechanical power steering, result in the new Boxster not only offering superior performance but also up to 15 per cent greater fuel efficiency.

Even before it has hit UK roads, the new Volkswagen up! has claimed top honours at the prestigious What Car? awards, being named Car of the Year for 2012 as well as best City Car.  Taking the Car of the Year title for the sixth time makes Volkswagen the most successful manufacturer at the What Car? awards since they began in 1978. It was a highly successful night for the manufacturer overall at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’ held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, with the Golf returning as winner of the Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also taking the coveted Safety Award. Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Positioned as the ultimate Toyota Land Cruiser, the Land Cruiser V8 has never wanted for much in terms of quality, performance, luxury and unmissable road presence. That formidable combination notwithstanding, the newly unveiled 2012 model goes even further in terms of sharper design inside and out, more creature comforts and advanced handling technologies for exceptional off-road capabilities. Making its debut this week at the Brussels motor show, the 2012 Land Cruiser V8 will go on sale in the UK in March. More details of the UK range will be announced nearer the time of launch.