First drive: new Renault Twingo

Well, that's a snappy-looking little thing...

Sure is. City cars usually try to look like one of two things. One, a scaled-down big car. Two, a scaled-up cutesy child's toy. They seldom succeed. This one is neither. It's comfortable in its own skin.

And under the skin?

That's where things get even more interesting. Again, it's not trying to be a scaled-down regular hatch. Its engine is in the back. This means the front end can be shorter while still proving enough of a crush zone. Which leaves more room for the people. It's shorter than the old Twingo but the wheelbase is 12cm longer.

But the engine's got to go somewhere. If they stuff it in the back, surely it'll eat the boot and not help rear crash safety?

All fair points. To get around that, the engine lies almost on its back, so it'll fit under the boot floor, and slides downwards and forwards in a crash rather than breaking the backs of the people in the rear seat.

So the whole layout is like a Smart, then.

Quite. And as it happens the new Twingo and the new Smart are closely related. Basically the Twingo, and the new Smart Fortwo and Forfour, were all developed together by Renault and Daimler engineers at Renault's technical centre in Paris.

Under the skin, they all share engines, transmissions, suspensions, electronics, platform and seat frames. Renault people say they always wanted to do a rear-engined Twingo but couldn't afford to do a unique platform. Then Renault-Nissan started working with Mercedes on a range of projects, and this was a natural co-operation job.

But Smarts have always been pretty grim to drive. Is the Twingo all about dire performance, twirly steering, a noddy ride and jerky gearbox?

Nope. For a start, the transmission is a manual, and quite a nice-shifting one too. The longer wheelbase and wider track of the Twingo make it sit pretty solidly on the road. Unfortunately the base model comes with a slow steering rack, so you do have to flail your arms in mini-roundabouts. The 90bhp turbo engines come with a rack that quickens on lock, so the problem goes away. The ride isn't quite as placid as an Up, but you don't suffer.

Any dynamic advantages to that rear engine? What about huge drifting potential?

There's no oversteer. A non-switchable ESP is like some overzealous H&S officer in a hi-vis. But the layout still has advantages. The light nose means it's super-agile down twisty roads. The steering isn't corrupted by torque demands, so feels very pure. The engine and exhaust are further from your ears, so their noise is diminished. And it's great for a city car too, because the turning circle is extraordinarily tight. You can pull sneaky u-turns and backdoubles like a London cabbie. Getting into and out of tight parking spots is almost comically easy.

So a town car only, or OK on fast roads?

That depends which engine you get. There's a three-cylinder 70bhp un-turbocharged base engine that is pretty hopeless at overtaking or hill-climbing. You need the turbo engine, also a triple, that makes 90bhp and a healthy dose of torques. Thanks to the turbo, and the Twingo's light weight, it's the best-performing of the sub-minis, and the most fun you'll have in a baby car at the price.

Which is?

Starting at £9495 for the basic 70bhp. It doesn't have air-con (that's in a £500 pack) but it does have LEDs, DAB, USB, Bluetooth, and a smartphone mount with free nav app. For the turbo you're forced into the top trim, at £11,695.

And is it worth it?

Yes. It's a genuinely different approach to design and engineering that has brought real dividends, not just in being different for its own sake. Most important, it's much more fun than a base-model supermini for the same cash.

First impressions: new Audi TT

Sorry for starting on a bum note, but do we have permission to be slightly disappointed with the design of the new TT?

That’s up to you, and we’d understand if that was your gut reaction. On the other hand, as lead exterior designer Jurgen Loffler has just told TG.com, ‘When you’ve come up with a car that looks like the TT, would you rip it up and start again?’ Fair point. At least it hasn’t ballooned in size.

Tell me this isn’t just a light visual reboot…

Relax. The all-new TT is exactly that, and although efficiency is one of the key buzz-words here, Audi insists it’s also highly driver focused and a load of fun. Using the VW’s seemingly endlessly configurable MQB underpinnings – which mixes aluminium and high-tensile steel in the areas of the car that use it best – the new car weighs in at 1230kg, less than the outgoing model. No mean feat.

Lots of technology, too?

Stuffed to the gunwhales with it. The big story is the Virtual Cockpit, which does away with the central screen and allows the driver to spool through and personalise display settings. We’ll report back later with deeper feedback, but first impressions suggest that Audi is onto something pretty seismic here, once you’ve got the hang of it, that is. The resolution on the navigation display is so good you can practically identify the make and model of vehicles in the car parks as you pass by. AND the system learns and remembers the data you input. It’s AI on wheels. In fact the cabin as a whole is so good it’s arguably the focal point and USP of the entire car… If they could give the system Scarlett Johansson’s voice, they’d conquer the world.

So I don’t actually need to drive it, then.

Don’t be daft. The likely big seller, the 2.0-litre, 228bhp TFSi, is a proper little belter. Again, we’ll tell you more later but TG.com has just been for a blat down a seriously tricky bit of Spanish back road – gnarled and nasty, in places, just like the UK’s – and its ride quality and damping prove that the wooden and lumpy Audis of yore are now officially history. Yes, we’d like more steering feel, and the dual-shift S-tronic ’box can feel artificial at times, but it’s rapid, secure and a lot more interactive than you might expect. Audi is sticking to turbo four-pots for emissions and economy reasons, but the engine note is pretty impressive, too.

So far, so good.

Yep. Perhaps surprisingly so. And come back in a couple of hours for our full conclusions…

Meet Aston Martin's new boss

Okay, so industry news might not put the fire in your belly like a brand new hypercar. But this one's important: Aston Martin has a new boss, and if we were putting money on anyone to make the brand properly competitive again, it's him.

Andy Palmer has been the spearhead of lots of Nissan's recent success. He's been there since 1991, and leaves his role as Chief Planning Officer with the Juke and Qashqai monstering the sales charts, the Nismo brand in the mainstream and Nissan back at Le Mans and fighting for overall victory in 2015.

We take a ride around Le Mans with Andy Palmer

Aston's search for a new chief has been a long one, with its previous boss Ulrich Bez stepping down last year. If Palmer's CV is anything to go by, though, he'll have been worth the wait. The fact he's British ensures a big tick in Aston's patriotism box, while he's a proven petrolhead too, having raced Nissans during his time in charge.

An Aston Martin statement said: ‘We're delighted that Andy will join us as our new CEO at this important time at Aston Martin. Andy's wealth of experience on the global automotive stage in marketing and sales, engineering and technology, and luxury and brand management will be instrumental in taking Aston Martin forward through its most significant and ambitious period of investment to date.'

The big story at Aston Martin at the moment is its deal with Mercedes, which will see twin-turbocharged AMG V8s, plus a host of other tech make its way under the skin of future Aston models (better paddleshift gearboxes can't come soon enough). Having Palmer oversee perhaps the company's most vital modern-day period significantly increases our optimism for Aston's chances of success.

Palmer - who was recognised for his services to the British automotive industry in the 2014 New Year Honours - will complete a transition period at Nissan before returning to Britain later in the year, starting his new job after 13 years in Japan.

Does he have one of the most exciting jobs in the sports car industry? What would be on your to-do list if you were given the big seat at Aston Martin?

Two 650bhp Fiats go drag racing

We challenge you to watch this video of Taz Racing's wares and not be a little bit enamoured with the concept. Really, what's not to like? It brings together all the romance of titchy, unreliable Italian hatchbacks and some good old-fashioned British ingenuity.

We could drone on about the specs of these super-hot little Fiat 126s, but in the interest of saving time until you press play, we'll just mention the important one: tuned Chevy V8s producing a Mercedes SLS Black-busting 650bhp. In other words, these flyweight Fiats have power-to-weight ratios that wipe the floor with just about any supercar you care to mention.

And here's what happened when the taps opened up over a quarter-mile drag race at Britain's Santa Pod drag strip. The times achieved are impressive. Seriously impressive.

Zenos sports car gets more power

Remember the Zenos E10? The dinky little sports car was revealed at the turn of the year, and with the brains of former Caterham chiefs Ansar Ali and Mark Edwards behind it, its chances of success ought to be strong.

Following news of the £24,995, 200bhp launch E10, there is now a more powerful E10 S. Like the base car, the S uses a 2-litre four-cylinder Ford engine, only this time it's the Ecoboost engine you'll find in the frantic Focus ST. That means it's turbocharged, and with 250bhp and 250lb ft to propel a car weighing circa-650kg, the resulting power-to-weight ratio of around 385bhp/ton is a match for a Ferrari 458.

Performance is predictably potent, then: 0-60mph takes an estimated 4.5 seconds, while the E10 S's top speed is quoted as 135mph. The latter might not instantly set your pulse racing on paper, but it should prove plenty enough in a car with no roof or windows...

Priced from £29,995 - a £5000 rise over the less powerful, naturally aspirated E10 - the E10 S is primed to take on established competition in the shape of the Caterham Seven and Ariel Atom. Like those cars, its spec sheet is flexible, with the choice of five- or six-speed manual gearboxes and trackday-focused options like a limited-slip differential, adjustable dampers, vented brake discs, and the like.

A £32,995 Track edition attempts to round up the most desirable options in one package, with the diff, uprated suspension, race harnesses and even heated seats among its additions.

It's what many of the 70 or so Zenos buyers so far have plumped for. Those who put deposits down on the base E10 were shown the E10 S at a driving event at the weekend; 80 per cent of them have scribbled out their original order sheet and upgraded to the more powerful car.

Zenos development is at full-pelt at the moment, with final prototypes testing towards the end of the year, with production set to begin in January 2015. The company has set up shop in Wymondham, Norfolk, just down the road from another British sports car maker, Lotus. You might have heard of them.

While the E10 follows a fairly well-thumbed sports car recipe - light weight + proven engine = a complete giggle to drive - Zenos is hoping it can bring something new to the class, too. Affordability is high on the agenda, running deeper than just the asking price; the car has been designed to be cheap to work on, with the engine easily removed and vital components protected and kept away from the car's extremities to help keep the cost of any off-track ‘exploration' to a minimum. Two further models - an E11 roadster and E12 coupe - will follow the more extreme E10 further down the line.

So, over to you: would this get your money over the traditional Seven/Atom/Elise trio?

Top Gear goes rallying: race report

The most important thing is that we finished. And no, I'm not just saying that to cover up the fact we finished 87th. Because 87th out of the 160 starters of the Woodpecker Stages Rally and 11th in class is a complete result as far as I'm concerned.

Rolling our freshly minted rally car into a small ball wouldn't have done much for my confidence, the team's mood, our preparations for Wales Rally GB or my relationship with my new co-driver, Jack Morton.

Jack is part of the Motor Sports Association's Junior Academy that helps develop new talent, a programme run by Nicky Grist, co-driver to the late Colin McRae. In case you weren't aware it's the co-driver that does pretty much everything in rallying short of turning the steering wheel, and yes, that includes managing the driver's pace, calming him down if he gets carried away, chivvying him along if he starts to chicken out. Jack, as far as I'm concerned, is the sole reason we did as well as we did on Saturday.

What can I remember? That all the stages seemed to blend together, a brown and green blur of murky forest and wet mud. A couple of choice moments leapt out: the start of stage one was all steep uphill hairpins around which our sub-90bhp i20 really struggled and at the end of the stage I completely botched the chicane, going in too hot, stalling and having to reverse out - all within sight of the finish.

The end of stage two caught people (well me) out - downhill hairpin left into hairpin right, during which I mounted the back through the first corner and nearly collected an errant spectator. There was fog in 12.2-mile stage 3, and an error in the supplied pacenotes saw what Jack read as ‘four left into five right' (where numbers reflect the gear you expect to be in) turn out to be a tight chicane. Thereafter the pacenotes looked iffy for thirty seconds or so, so Jack gave me the ‘drive it as you see it' get-out clause.

Although I was flat in sixth at the time, heading downhill with much fresh air off to my right, this was actually a bit of a relief, because the whole pacenotes thing is not only a bit pat-your-head-and-rub-your-stomach, but requires both driver and navigator to have huge faith and trust in each other.

It was all a bit of a feet-finding exercise - this was the first stage rally I'd done in eight or nine years, but by lunchtime my confidence was starting to come and the three afternoon stages felt better - more flow, more speed, less over-driving of our underpowered car. If you really want to see how we did, click here to see the official results.

Our little i20 had no mechanical issues whatsoever, the post I could have sworn I swiped with the back end midway through stage two must have missed by millimetres, and the way the Hyundai drives is just fabulous: stunning brakes, really accurate front end, mobile back end and a diff capable of hauling us out of the most wretched situations. More power and we'll be sorted...

And ideally longer gearing too. At the moment the Hewland six-speed sequential is geared to make the most of the modest power. Top speed is a GPS-verified... 67mph. In one stage we were flat on the limiter for around 35 seconds. We might have nudged 68mph. This does mean I'm forever changing gear, trying to keep the 1.2 in the last thou before the 6,000rpm limiter and that in itself is fun, but on any uphill the speed just refuses to build. At one point Jack asked if I fancied a brew...

I think what amazed us most was the interest and support we found out there. People loved seeing something new and different, immediately understood the link to the Hyundai WRC car, loved the way the i20 looked.

Which brings me on to one last thing. Currently EY63 UGT is white. It has no livery. We'd like you to design one for us. Yep, really. More information on this shortly.

Secrets of the M4 Convertible's roof

I've just been driving the BMW M4 Convertible, and I'm reminded of the craziness of the whole roof mechanism. It's actually the same as all other 4-series Convertibles, so this criticism isn't just aimed at M. In fact it isn't really aimed at BMW, it's aimed at the lazy people who buy the car.

Here's a series of photos of it in action. To lower the thing, all the driver has to do is slow down to 10mph, and touch a button. The four windows drop, and the roof unlatches itself. Then the front panel of the roof moves back until it's snuggled against the section that's normally above the rear passengers. The rear section meanwhile is levitated up to lie above it.

Then the boot lid opens, hinged from the back, and this metal and glass sandwich motors into the top of the boot cavity. Finally the lid closes again, so you can open it in the normal way to get at your stuff. Except you can't. The stowed roof almost entirely blocks the boot entrance.

But of course the ever-diligent BMW engineers have thought of this. Press another button and the entire boot-lid rises vertically. And the roof sandwich rises to follow. You don't have to exert yourself: it's all done by a set of electro-hydraulic actuators. This takes many agonising seconds, but at last you can get your bags out. Then you have to press the button again so all the roof and lid contraptions can ease their way down again.

Sure, it works, but surely it could have been simplified and lightened. Does everything have to be powered? Couldn't BMW owners raise a tiny bit of muscle power beyond the onerous business of holding their manicured fingers on a switch for 20 seconds?

A Convertible M4 weighs 250kg more than the M4 Coupe. Because of all the stuff needed to heave to roof about the place, its weight distribution is about 52 per cent on the rear instead of 48 per cent for the Coupe. And when you drop the roof, it goes to 53 per cent rearward. That's a whole lot of junk in the trunk.

Of course the 4-series isn't the only car affected. The Porsche 911 Targa was, in the 1960s, a car where you just lifted out a panel and stowed it. The new one could have been the same: the glass rear window could merely have hinged up manually, and you could have popped the panel in. But no. Instead the whole thing moves out so far that it even overhangs beyond the back bumper. It's entirely powered. And the original idea for a simple semi-open car ends up distorted into the heaviest, costly, most complex 911 body of all.

No doubt you can add your own suggestions of roof-type pointlessness in the comments box below. First one to mention the Honda CRX del Sol gets a prize. Oops, won it myself. The Citroen Pluriel doesn't count, because it had a DIY element.