Kwik-way Valve Seat Grinding Kit on 2040-parts.com

MINI Countryman to be built in India

MINI sells worldwide – even in the US – and, despite claims it was a step too far for the brand, the MINI Countryman has been a big hit for MINI, offering as it does most of MINI’s charm but in a bigger, more family friendly package and with the option of All4 4WD for a degree of off-road ability (well, certainly the ability to treat boot sale car parks with disdain). Now, for the first time, BMW is to build the MINI outside Europe with a new MINi assembly facility coming on stream in Chennai, India, where BMW already makes 3 and 5 Series models as well as the X1 and X3. The plan is part of BMW’s plan of ‘Production follows the market’ where BMW aim to make their cars where they’re sold, so with the MINI brand showing strong growth in India since its launch it makes sense to build them there.

Tweaked 2012 Toyota Prius starts at £21,350

2012 Toyota Prius - on sale in March The mildly revised 2012 Toyota Prius arrives in the UK. Starting at £21,350 it offers a mild cosmetic tweak and better specification. It’s hard to get too excited about the tweaks to the 2012 Toyota Prius, as Toyota hasn’t exactly pushed the boat out to overhaul the Prius for the new year. But tweaks there are and the new Prius is ready for the UK market.

SEAT Leon Cupra and Cupra 280 revealed

SEAT Leon Cupra and Cupra 280 revealed SEAT has come out fighting in the hot hatch stakes, and has revealed two versions of the Leon Cupra with up to 276bhp. Based on similar underpinnings to VW’s Golf GTI, the Leon goes much further than the GTI by offering a choice of two Cupra versions, 261bhp in the manual three-door SC or a mighty 276bhp in the Cupra 280. The 261bhp Cupra manages to get to 62mph in 5.9 seconds with the Cupra 280 cutting that to 5.7 seconds when fitted with DSG ‘box, with economy for the manual Cupras at 44.1mpg, and 42.2 mpg if you opt for the DSG ‘box.