The new Seat Arona small crossover SUV will launch in UK dealers on 17 November 2017 with prices starting from £16,555, the firm has now confirmed.

Seat’s Ibiza-derived rival to the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur is its smallest crossover yet, sitting below the smash-hit Ateca, and follows the now-established trend of offering several ‘First Edition’ launch specials.

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The core model range of SE and SE Technology, FR and FR Sport, Xcellence and Xcellence Lux will be joined by an £18,730 SE First Edition and £22,020 Xcellence First Edition, which will be the key cars dealers will be showing to customers from mid-November.

Seat says the model range has been tailored to be easy and straightforward: instead of making buyers fret with configurators over options and other choices, they simply choose the trim level, engine and colour. It is, reckons the firm, “an innovative new approach to simplifying customer choice for easier car buying”.

Regardless of this, buyers can still pick up to 30 colour combinations, including three different roof colours – and metallic paint is standard on every Arona, even the base SE.

Five engines are offered, a 1.0 TSI 95 or 115, a 1.5 TSI Evo 150, and either a 1.6 TDI 95 or 115. Manual and DSG gearboxes are available but you can’t get an all-wheel-drive Seat Arona.

2018 Seat Arona: standard equipment

• SE: 17-inch alloys, bi-colour roof, LED running lights, air con, five-inch touchscreen
• SE Technology: Connectivity Pack Plus (eight-inch touchscreen with nav, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto), wireless charging, rear parking sensors, two SD card slots
• SE Technology First Edition: Storage pack, Winter pack, auto wipers, climate control, adaptive cruise control, folding door mirrors, auto-dim rear-view mirrors
• FR: full LED headlights, sport front seats, flat-bottom steering wheel, sports suspension, rear disc brakes
• FR Sport: 18-inch alloys, Alcantara upholstery, Dynamic Chassis Control
• Xcellence Lux: 18-inch alloys, Alcantara upholstery
• Xcellence First Edition: Beats sound system, winter pack, front sensor, rear-view camera, park assist

2018 Seat Arona: prices

Earlier this summer, thefts of motorcycles and scooters in Birmingham shot up. In response, the city council came up with a novel strategy – ticketing at-risk machines.

These were not real parking tickets, though (despite how official-looking they appeared). Rather, they were reminders to owners about the importance of extra security measures, and were only stuck on motorcycles lacking any form of security.

The ‘polite’ reminders were part of the ‘lock it or lose it’ initiative, run as part of the Motorcycle Industry Association’s ‘MASTER’ security scheme.

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PC Paul Ennis from West Midlands Police admitted that “people can get a little defensive when they are approached by a cop, but I have been very impressed by the supportive comments and gratitude shown to us all… it has been a really positive experience”.

Officers also noted down the mix of motorcycles with or without extra security fitted. When the scheme was launched in early August, just 40 percent of Birmingham’s motorcycles were protected with security devices such as a chain or disk lock.

And now? More than 90 percent of machines are carrying extra security measures.

“When we set out on this campaign,” said PC Ennis, “we had one simple objective: to make riders aware of the risk of theft when parking a motorcycle and to use some additional security. 

“When we started this, the majority of motorcycles in this area were inadequately protected. Today the majority are well protected.”

Indeed, it’s been such a success, there are plans for the campaign to continue into the autumn. So, riders, if you park up in Birmingham and return to find a ticket on your machine, don’t worry. But maybe consider buying some extra security tech for next time…

The striking new Kia Stinger is now available to order in the UK with prices starting from £31,995. Deliveries of the large new four-door GT coupe begin on 1 January 2018.

One of the most ambitious new Kias yet, the Stinger GT firmly pushes the brand upmarket – not least thanks to the top-spec model’s very potent 365hp 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine. This hurtles the rear-wheel drive car from 0-62mph in just 4.7 seconds; top speed is a fiery 168mph.  

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But despite the headlines, V6 versions will make up a small slice of sales. Most Stingers will be powered by four-cylinder engines, either a 197hp 2.2-litre CRDi turbodiesel, or a 244hp 2.0-litre T-GDi turbo petrol. An eight-speed automatic gearbox is standard on all; Kia’s only bringing rear-wheel drive Stingers to the UK, despite all-wheel drive versions being offered in Europe. Because the UK is a driver-focused market, we get a standard limited-slip differential instead.

Oh, and the four-cylinder models are not exactly slothful, either: the petrol will do 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds, and even the diesel will run it in 7.3 seconds, despite also averaging 50.4mpg and emitting less than 150g/km CO2.  

First seen as the GT Concept way back in 2011, the Stinger is being described as a game-changer by Kia, which rather breathlessly describes UK pent-up demand as “reaching fever pitch”. Hence its decision to open ordering early, ahead of the January on-sale launch.

Three trim lines – GT-Line, GT-Line S and GT-S – will pad out the range to a five-model line-up, with prices starring from £31,995; the top-spec V6 is £40,495.

Kia Stinger: specification

All UK Kia Stingers come with 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment with standard sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A 7.0-inch TFT display is standard, as are all-round parking sensors, reverse parking camera and even a head-up display.

The standard sound system is a nine-speaker system with a subwoofer under the front seat; GT-Line S and GT-S come with a 15-speaker Harman/Kardon setup boasting subwoofer, external amp and a front centre speaker. Leather upholstery is standard too, upgraded to Nappa leather on the GT-S.

Premium-like features abound as standard: the D-shaped steering wheel is adjusted electrically, the dashboard is clad in leather, the headlining is suede and heated front seats are backed up by heated rear seats in the GT-Line S and GT-S – which also include ventilated front seats.  

Wheels? 18-inch on the GT-Line and GT-Line S, 19-inch on the GT-S – which also has Porsche-line mixed tyre sizes: 225/40 on the front, 225-35 on the rear. The GT-S also has electronic suspension.

Kia Stinger: UK model range

• Stinger GT-Line 2.0 T-GDI
• Stinger GT-Line 2.2 CRDi
• Stinger GT-Line S 2.0 T GDI
• Stinger GT-Line S 2.2 CRDi
• Stinger GT-S 3.3 T GDI V6

Amazon Alexa is to be integrated into all new BMW and Mini models from 2018 – and users won’t even need to hook up their smartphone in order to use it.

Because all new BMWs and Minis come with a built-in SIM card, the firm is able to fully integrate Alexa and deploy it en masse; it means everything that Alexa users do from Amazon Echo devices, they’ll soon be able to do in their car too.

It’s presumably as easy as saying, “Alexa…”

The move is a development of the BMW Connected Alexa ‘skill’, that’s been offered for around a year: it allows BMW and Mini owners to ‘ask’ Alexa questions such as the state of charge in their electric vehicle, or how much fuel is in their diesel or petrol.

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Full integration will bring the home-based convenience of Alexa into the car, says BMW. Adding a digital ecosystem “will open up all sorts of new possibilities that customers can access quickly, easily and safely from their car,” said Dieter May, senior vice president of digital services and business models at BMW.

Examples include asking Alexa which movies are on at the local cinema (and what times they’re shown), listening to playlists or checking the weather at their destination. Naturally, as it’s an Amazon product, online orders can be made while driving.

“We are excited to work with BMW to bring the Alexa experience to their drivers,” said Ned Curic, vice president, Alexa Automotive. “Using your voice to enjoy content and interact with Alexa makes a great driving experience even better.”

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Chinese automotive giant Geely Holding has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in legendary British sports car brand Lotus. The thriving firm, which is acknowledged as transforming the fortunes of premium car brand Volvo, now aims to do the same with Lotus.

Current Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales, who himself has turned around the Norfolk-based brand into a money-making operation, will continue in his role; Geely Holding executive vice president and CFO Daniel Donghui Li becomes chairman of the Lotus board.

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Geely Holding has secured a 51 percent stake in Lotus Advance Technologies Sdn Bhd (or, ‘Lotus’), with Malaysian automotive group Etika holing a 49 percent minority stake.

Geely is already planning an ambitious transformation for Lotus. “With the transaction completion we now look forward to working with our partners to develop the Lotus brand into a globally competitive brand and a well-recognised leader in the sports car market,” said new chairman Li.

“We are extremely confident that Lotus will go above and beyond the expectations of the automotive industry and consumer base in the near future.”

Gales was equally effusive. “Following a successful business turnaround, the Lotus brand has never been in a stronger position and we are now perfectly positioned for growth.

“We are producing the best cars in the company’s history and are currently developing the next generation of sports luxury vehicles which will continue to demonstrate the Lotus brand values of class-leading vehicle dynamics, light weighting, styling and aerodynamics by leveraging Geely Holding’s global strengths and resources.”

A new Lotus board of directors has been established. Three seats will be for Geely execs, with two from Etika. 

Daniel Donghui Li is chairman, while Geely Auto vice president and chief technology officer Feng Qing Feng plus vice president of international business and executive advise to the Geely Holding president Nathan Yu Ning also join.

Etika has appointed Dato’ Sharil Tarmizi, who’s both a corporate consultant and a “long term supporter of technology companies to the Lotus board”.

Its second Lotus board member will be announced in due course. 

A company in Iceland is trialling a 3D painted zebra crossing in a bid to slow motorists down.

Vegamálun, the Icelandic firm behind the work, says the idea originated from the Indian capital of New Delhi, where 3D zebra crossings have also been used to reduce average speeds. They’ve been introduced in the Chinese capital of Beijing as well.

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There’s nothing particularly clever about the 3D zebra crossings: they’re simply an optical illusion, painted to appear in 3D. This is intended to make drivers slow down and pay them (and hopefully any pedestrians using them) more attention.

“A pedestrian crossing like this makes it look like there’s something blocking the road,” Vegamálun CEO Gauti Ívar Halldórsson told Icelandic website Visir.

The company came up with the idea earlier in September, taking just a couple of weeks to receive the go-ahead from local authorities. During that time, workers were able to practice their 3D painting skills.