Fire up the.... Toyota Yaris 1.3 SR

A LONG time ago, in a factory far, far away, Toyota made some epically reliable but unbelievably boring cars.

Chief among these was the Starlet, which back in the early Nineties failed to tempt the supermini faithful out of their Fiestas, largely because it looked so dull. That's why its successor, the original Yaris of 1999, was such a class act. In a stroke the company cracked the small car nut with something stylish and innovatively packaged, and it hasn't looked back since.

It's clear the company still knows how to make an engaging small car - you only need to look at the ingeniously packaged IQ and the cheeky Aygo for proof - but the latest version of the Yaris has some awfully big small car boots to fill.

The main thing you'll notice aboard the new arrival is just how roomy it is.

Admittedly, finding room for people and luggage where you mightn't have expected it has always been a Yaris party trick, but with the 2011 model the world's biggest car company has moved the goalposts again. If you're one of those freakishly tall people who find the Fiesta and Corsa a bit of a squeeze, the extra inches Toyota's eaked out of the Yaris might just swing it for you.

What you also notice is that the likes of the 1.3 SR version I tested are definitely aiming for the upmarket segment of the supermini sector - where people care more for equipment and bombproof reliability than image or driveability - and I doubt anyone familiar with the outgoing model are going to be dissapointed by the quality of the materials and the way it's been screwed together. It's also very generously equipped, with the stereo/satnav interface garnering particular praise, but then it needs to be for almost £15k.

Yet for everything it gains the new Yaris loses some of the ineffable magic which made its two immediate predecessors such a hit, lacking both the cheeky looks of the original and the sparkle that came across on every journey. It's by no means a bad car, but nor is it one that you'd choose over a Fiesta, a Polo or a Jazz.

Unless you're freakishly tall, that is.

Honda to offer go-faster version of CR-Z

HONDA'S just announced the sportiest hybrid it makes will be made a little hotter with the announcement that a performance version will arrive next year.

The company said that it has teamed up with tuning firm MUGEN to offer go-faster version of the CR-Z hybrid coupe, which will offer up 50% more power than the existing car and rocket to sixty no less than three seconds faster.

Martin Moll, Head of Honda (UK) marketing said: “MUGEN Euro magic has created a super responsive yet eco-conscious model building on our sporting credentials and giving us the ability to compete in the hot hatch marketplace as we move into 2012.”

The standard CR-Z is the current Life On Cars car of the year, after impressing last year with its blend of performance and eco-friendliness.

The Ford Capri's back, and it's Japanese this time

STICK your men's fragrances back on the shelf and unplug your smoothie maker. Metrosexual is out and hairy-chested is back in this season.

I know this because the Ford Capri, that most medallion-wearing, bitter-swigging, cigar-chomping of cars is back, even if it isn't actually a Capri. Or a Ford, for that matter. The only way isn't Essex (or more specifically, Dagenham) anymore. Thanks to Toyota, the only way if you want an outrageously powerful but surprisingly affordable performance car is their new sports coupe.

Yes, I know the newly announced GT-86 - the worst kept secret in motoring until this week - might be Japanese but it really is the iconic Ford reincarnated. It is, like a Capri, rear-wheel-drive, which I know from experience is intoxicating and intimidating in roughly equal measure, depending on the conditions and the weight of your right foot.

Like the later Capris, it's got a big, beefy engine (197bhp 2.0 litre flat four, if you're interested) under an endlessly long bonnet, and just like Essex Man's favourite it's got a swoopy coupe bodyshell. Prices haven't been announced yet but if the pundits' predictions of about £25,000 are on the money, it'll be the performance car bargain of the year. Like a Capri.

The funny thing is that there's a remake of The Sweeney on the way next year, but rather than going for the spiritual successor to all those leather-jacketed Fords of decades gone by they've gone with an actual Ford, in the shape of the front-wheel-drive Focus ST. A hot hatch which I'm sure will be brilliant in the best fast Ford tradition, but can you see the original Regan and Carter riding around in one? Or The Professionals, for that matter? Really? I'm not too sure, Guv.

I suspect Essex Man Junior - if such a medallion-wearing, unbelievably Seventies throwback of a bloke actually exists - would go for the hairy-chested rear wheel driver. I can only hope the baddies in the new Sweeney film, which comes out next year, do pick a GT-86 as their getaway car of choice, in the hope we'll at least be promised the Focus ST being involved in some proper car chases.

Which would be faster? Answers on a postcard to the usual Champion address...

You're nicked!

THE latest in a long line of fast Fords has been given a starring role in a remake of a classic Seventies cop show destined for the big screen next year.

Ford confirmed last week that its new Focus ST will be appearing alongside Ray Winstone and Plan B in a feature-length remake of The Sweeney, the classic police procedural starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman. The company said its new model, which goes on sale next year and musters up 250bhp from a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine, will be powerful enough to ensure the film's crooks “will always struggle to make a clean getaway”.

The original version of The Sweeney has enjoyed a longstanding association with Ford, after its main characters used a variety of Consuls, Cortinas and Granadas to reel in London's villains.

The film version of The Sweeney is due to arrive in cinemas next September but real life Regans and Carters will be able to enjoy the car earlier, when the Focus ST screeches into the showrooms next summer.

Fire up the... Renaultsport Twingo Silverstone GP Edition

GILLIAN McKeith, I reckon, would be a big fan of this sporty little number from Renault.

This latest version of the Twingo, you see, has been on a bit of a crash diet, in a bid to get rid of any uneccessary blubber and get into great hot hatch shape. In fact, the only place its piled on the pounds is in the price; this run-out Silverstone GP edition weighs in at £14,995 - more than two grand more than the standard model.

But don't think this is all limited edition badges and no trousers - this run-out version comes with a host of options chosen to appeal to the keen driver, including a stainless steel exhaust system and a performance monitoring system which lets you record your favourite boy racer stats, including your lap times and the amount of time it takes to shoot from nought to sixty. Tip for anyone thinking of thrashing one; 8.7 seconds is your target time.

Despite all the options and the wonderfully cossetting bucket seats, however, this is definitely a hatchback designed for thrills rather than frills, something you can't fail to notice with the rather cheap-feeling interior. Spartan on equipment and clad in tacky grey plastics, it's not a car you buy if you enjoy being pampered in your spare time.

Where this car really shines is not on the motorway - where it's just too noisy to be a comfortable companion - but on the B roads, where it's clear that all the crash dieting and the company's Cup chassis really come good as you dart from corner to corner. It is a fanatically fit streetfighter of a car, and always feels far more frantic than its 133bhp 1.6 litre engine initially suggests.

While it's a bit too raucous for my tastes - for my money I'd still go for the slightly more polished Suzuki Swift Sport tested earlier this year for Life On Cars - it is undoubtedly a true hot hatch in the old school sense, and more than capable of giving weightier rivals a run for their money.

Just don't load it up with too much luggage, otherwise you'll undo all of Renault's hard work!

Unpimp My Ride

XZIBIT and Tim Westwood would be disappointed. The first thing I've done with my new MX-5 is to look at the bling accessories on offer and decide not to fit them.

In fact I'm almost going the other way, because at least four of the bits added on by previous owners - the alloy wheels, the steering wheel, the gearknob and the front splitter - are all coming off. As you can probably gather from the photo above, I'm going for a slightly more traditional look.

The wheel on the left is the one that came with the car, and while I know plenty of people like that sort of thing sprouting from their steering column I couldn't shake the Sega Rally connotations, so it had to come off. As anyone who reads this column will already know, one of the things I love most about my MGB GT is its wonderfully traditional wooden wheel, which is why I've fitted a very similar one to the Mazzer. It not only looks the part, but feels it too.

I've also swapped the five-spoke aftermarket alloys for the smaller, standard MX-5 ones (which not only look better, and give a softer ride too) but the not-at-all-gaudy blue gearknob is being replaced by something a little more fitting for a retro sports car, and there's some wooden trim on the way to make the interior slightly more sumptuous.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dissaprove at all of modifying cars, but it'd be a dull old world if we all liked the same things and I just think a traditionalist sports car looks better with wood, leather and chrome than boy racer alloys and a Playstation steering wheel. Hopefully the finished result will look as good in the pictures as I imagine it!

It's amazing how a few bits bought relatively cheaply can take your classic from The Fast and The Furious to Heartbeat in an instant.

The reinvented Lambretta is a scooter I'd happily ride

AS A rule of thumb I don't really do bikes, but every so often I'll make an exception.

Especially if the bike - sorry, scooter - in question happens to be a bit of an Italian icon that seems to have slipped under the petrolhead radar until now. Maybe that's because this is Life On Cars and I'm not exactly known for leafing through Scootering while loitering in WH Smith, but even so this relaunched Lambretta looks very alluring!

I've always been a bit of a Mod at heart, even going so far as to own a Vespa in my student days, but Lambrettas have always had a bit of an elusive quality because they're rare, treasured by their owners and therefore almost always an expensive thing to purchase. In fact, with the original scooters going out of production in the early 1970s your only chance to own a new Lambretta lately has been by popping down to your nearest trendy clothes shop.

But now someone's finally cottoned on that Lambretta is a cool brand, which is why the reinvented versions apparently proven such a hit sinch its UK relaunch earlier this year. What they've produced is what surely must be to motorbikes what the MINI and Fiat 500 are to cars; timeless and achingly trendy styling matched to modern day mechanicals. Throw in 50cc and 125cc engines almost tailor-made to fit the UK's learner riders and you've got a very cool and surprisingly green way of getting to work.

It's almost enough to enough to tempt me back onto two wheels. Shame my garage is full...

For more information about the relaunched Lambretta scooter go to the company's website www.lambrettamotorcycles.com

Forget the looks, the best bit about the new Honda Civic is the doors

THE outgoing Honda Civic was always a car I'd buy with my heart. Yet - as anyone who's ever tried to get into the back of one will testify - it's absolutely not one you can buy with your head.

I had this point proven to me at a Honda dealership last night, when I was invited to play Spot The Difference between the Civic you know and love, and the new model, which goes on sale at the end of the year. I haven't driven the new model yet but after poring over both in nauseatingly boring detail I can tell you Honda has eliminated the old car's biggest problem; that you bang your head if you're getting in the back.

The old car's worst feature, amazingly, is a byproduct of its best; that its styling is such a brilliant aesthetic achievement. In 2006, just as Ford's restyled Focus was losing its Blake's Seven looks, along came Honda with something that looked like it'd been stolen from the set of Bladerunner. Here was, in a field of humdrum hatchbacks, something which looked and felt genuinely radical and edgy. It's just a shame the rear doors had a roofline which cut right across where your head naturally goes as you're getting into the back seats. I don't think I've ever got into one without ending up with a very sorry feeling scalp!

However, Honda's engineers realised this, and set the best boffins at their Minor Injuries Avoidance Department to the task of eliminating it from the new model. There are, if you're thinking of buying a 2012 Civic, many things which count in its favour, but its single biggest advancement is the saving you'll make in packets of frozen peas and Elastoplast. The funding crisis hitting the NHS hard will surely be softened as the queue of Honda Civic rear passengers at Accident and Emergency departments up and down the land disappears as the Honda faithful flock to the new arrival. People who wear hats will no longer fear for their headgear if they're asked to get into the back of a Civic.

Whether the new arrival's as appealing as the old one is something I'll only know once I've driven it, and I've got high hopes for Honda's latest effort. If its handling, performance and refinement are anything like as good as its rear door access, it'll be a hit.

For a car that's retained the original's wedgy shape, the Minor Injuries Avoidance Department have done a cracking job.

Fire up the.... BMW X3 3.0d

AS I clambered into the big BMW's leather-lined cockpit and fired up its 3.0 litre turbodiesel engine, I made sure I'd left my preconceptions at the side of the road.

It's not that I've anything against the Bavarian motor maker's line up of ‘X' branded off-roaders, but more that since the first X5s appeared on British roads in 2000 I've spent years trying to remove them from their natural habitat of a few feet from the back bumper of whatever I'm driving. As someone who's spent years being tormented by drivers of BMW's off-roaders I am perfectly placed to absolutely hate the company's new and much improved X3.

But - having worn the boot on the other foot and driven it - I don't. In fact, I actually rather like it.

It is, for something roughly the same size of my old student flat, usefully brisk when you put your foot down. The X3 3.0d is emphatically not a fast car - for that you'll be wanting the meatier and thirstier petrol-propelled versions - but its turn of speed is enough to power down the middle lane of a motorway of your choice, looking down quite literally on other road users. It has that classic commanding driving position so beloved of White Van Man and off-roader owners.

But where it differs from both their vehicles is that you can also aim at an X3 at the twisty corners of a country lane and it'll respond not like an off-roader, but like a BMW, which in layman's terms means its a fine handler for something so tall. BMW's made this trick its schtick with all its off roaders, and it's business as usual with the new arrival.

It's also wonderfully accomodating inside, with plenty of space and gadgets aplenty - although you'd expect that for the £40,000 pricetag. More tastefully upholstered than Linda Barker's living room and built like a nuclear bunker, it is a lovely place to soak up the miles.

Is the £40,000 off-roader I'd buy? No, because I've test driven a rival I'd rather have which will be appearing on Life On Cars in the near future. But the big BMW's biggest achievement is that I really, really wanted not to like it, and I do.

It's that good a car.

Forget the midlife crisis, the Mazda MX-5 is a brilliant sports car

MY MIDLIFE crisis has arrived at least a decade early.

That's the reckoning of my Facebook friends, reacting to the news that I've bought what I reckon is a seminal small sports car. After a lot of saving up and careful searching, I've finally got myself a Mazda MX-5!

Regular readers will remember that last week I failed in my pub-based exploits to buy an early MK1 on eBay (thanks for all your tips and suggestions, everyone who emailed in) but in the end I found what I was looking for in the classifieds of this very newspaper. A tidy blue roadster which, despite having clocked up over 100,000 miles in its 20 year life, felt tight as a drum to drive.

I've already braced myself for the armchair pundits' argument; the MX-5, lots of you have already told me, is either a girl's car or a flashing belisha beacon alerting other road users to an impending midlife crisis. Luckily, I have my ripposte ready to go, and it comes in the form of a question to all you MX-5 cynics. Have you actually driven one?

If you have then you'll have felt the finesse of its handling, revelled in the go-kart responsiveness of its steering and enjoyed what I reckon has always been its best feature; the flick-of-the-wrist gearchange. The first time I drove two years ago, is forever etched into my memory as a masterclass of how well a good car can handle.

True, these are features you'll find fitted to my MGB as standard, but the difference between a British sports car and a Japanese one is that the latter is built properly. MX-5s, in a nutshell, are fun sports cars that work properly. That's why it is by far and away the world's best selling sports car and why every car maker on Earth has copied it; if it wasn't for the MX-5 there wouldn't have been an MGF, an SLK or a Boxster.

When I was lucky enough to take a brand new one into the wilds of Wales last year, I fell in love with it, and that's why I decided to take the plunge and actually get one all of my own. Will it be better to drive, to own, and to live with than the Minis I'm used to? I look forward to letting you know.

If a midlife crisis is anywhere near as much as fun as an MX-5 is mid-corner on some twisty mountain road, then bring it on.

Fire up the... Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet 1.6 TDI

GOLF, as anyone who's enjoyed a couple of rounds at the Royal Birkdale knows, is best enjoyed outdoors.

I reckon it's as true for the car as it is for the game, which is why it's so refreshing to see the good old Golf Cabriolet name making a comeback to Volkswagen's showrooms. In much the same way that the Golf GTI is synonymous with the hot hatchback, so the Golf Cabriolet is one of the icons of the open-top world.

You might have thought the company had played all its cabriolet cards with the Eos and its slick metal roof, but the smaller, soft-top Golf is positioned slightly below its older sister, in a bid to appeal to younger style-conscious buyers.

Costing roughly a grand less than the Eos across the range, it's giving fans of al fresco Volkswagens more choice than ever before.

The great thing the Golf, based on the proven mechanicals of the sixth-generation hatchback, has in its favour are its looks. Unusually for a cabriolet it's appealing with the roof up AND down, with the steep rake of the canvas hood giving it an almost coupe-like look when it's raining. The folding metal roofs which are de rigeur amongst its rivals might offer you more security, but on style alone the Golf's got ‘em licked.

The 1.6 diesel version I tested didn't offer a spectactulary exciting drive but there's plenty else to count in its favour, pulling well throughout the rev range while remaining quiet at higher speeds. Importantly for a cabriolet there's very little in the way of buffeting - the unwanted gust of wind that messes your hair up - and decision to decapitate the Golf doesn't seem to have spoilt any of its handling or composure.

Would one buy one? That depends on how badly you want a fancy folding metal roof with your flash cabriolet, in which case it's the older and slightly larger Eos you'll want.

In terms of driving, looks and packaging though I reckon the Golf's the better buy. But only slightly.

I still haven't found what I'm looking for

LAST Sunday night I did something very stupid. I should have heeded the warnings. Cars, drink and mobile phones are a dangerous combination.

Luckily, I'd had just the one pint of Guinness so I realised when I'd had a lucky escape. I sauntered sadly back to the bar, ordered another and stuck the change in the jukebox. As I dipped my lips into the creamy froth I contemplated what I'd very nearly just done; I'd very nearly bought an old sports car over a pint with a smartphone.

Again.

The problem, your honour, started a couple of months ago when I realised that what my life was missing was a Mazda MX-5, the little soft top sports cars you see being driven around in the height of summer with their pop-up headlights and their grinning owners. So I sold the Mini and started saving up. Eventually, the day came when I realised I'd earned just about enough to get a tidy little runner.

That's how, over a quiet pint, a mate whipped out his smartphone, fired up eBay and introduced me to a world into which I've never previously ventured; buying cars on eBay. He had just the thing for me - a nice, clean MX-5 with 85,000 alleged miles on the clock, and mine for just £660. As long as nobody else outbid me in the minute the auction had left to go.

"£750," I chirped confidently. "Nobody's going to offer more than that with a minute to go."

But they did. Some smug so-and-so immediately offered £770. It was getting tense, and I was lost in the cerebral buzz of it all.

"£800. Thirty seconds."

The bargain MX-5 of the century was mine. Then it wasn't. The smug so-and-so chipped in with £820. The final 15 seconds were fading fast.

"£850," I nodded to my smartphone-wielding mate. "I'll give you the money for it tomorr..."

"Sorry mate, it's gone", my mate replied with a sympathetic expression. "Someone's got a bargain for £820."

And that was it. I'd either missed it or survived a close call with destiny. Either way, I'd just tried to buy a car on the other side of the country, completely unseen, with a smartphone and a pint of Guinness Extra Cold to guide me.

I escaped buying an old car on eBay and realised my lucky escape. I celebrated immediately with another pint.

Lexus hots up its hybrid hatchback

LEXUS, it seems, are way ahead of me.

When I test drove the CT-200h earlier this year I walked away impressed but slightly frustrated; it was a hugely impressive hybrid hatchback, but "it isn't the last word in excitement". It was, I wrongly concluded, business as usual when it came to Japan's 1-Series bater. Even Kylie Minogue struggled to make the standard version look exciting.

But now the Japanese luxury car master's just spiced up the smallest of its models, meaning you can now enjoy a sports version of its hybrid hatchback.

The CT-200h Sport comes with the same eco-friendly powerplant as the normal version but it's been blessed with a tasty set of 17-inch alloy wheels, a new rear spoiler, flared sideskirts and a racy mesh grille among other cosmetic updates, meaning that while it doesn't have any extra go it offers plenty more show.

The company is, however, promising sportier handling, and said it's tuned the CT 200h F-Sport’s suspension for a more engaging drive, and fitted a lateral damping system as standard.

Yet for all the aggressive styling it's still an automotive eco activist thanks to its clever petrol/electric technology, meaning that it'll still return 68mpg and - thanks to its low emissions - cost nothing at all to tax.

In a stroke Lexus has just eliminated my main criticism of the CT-200h; that, for all its clever features, it was a bit boring. It's now just a little more Fast and Furious and a little less Friends of the Earth, and that's all I'd ask of it.

The CT-200h is available to order from Lexus showrooms now and costs £27,850.