With the sun shining, the temperature slowly starting to rise and the sales of after sun lotion starting to pick up, it can only mean one thing: summer will soon return to these usually sodden and windswept British Isles.

As such, plenty of big festivals will be springing up in various bits of the nation’s countryside, with perhaps the most prominent ones for the nation’s petrol heads being this year’s biggest car shows: the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.

The new Mk7 Golf GTI and GTD order books are open and there are some great deals available from main dealers already. These latest updates on the iconic hot hatch have had a great reception from the critics, thanks to their outstanding ability in every area that matters; from build quality to outright speed, from boot space to mpg!

It's now confirmed: From July 1 this year, vehicles emitting more than 75 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide will no longer be eligible for free passage into London's Congestion Charging (LCC) zone.

The implications of the new rules are wide ranging, with both positive and negative outcomes. But how will it affect you, the customer, and the makers of cleaner cars?

So, you've tried out the carwow Car Chooser and read all the details in our full guide to the Audi A3 and new Audi A3 Sportback.

Your next step is probably picking a car in your ideal specification. There's an almost agonising array of choices out there, so why not spend a minute looking through our guide to the A3's colour chart?

It seems like every manufacturer offers a compact SUV vehicle these days as an alternative to the small, family wagon range. With car-like manners and off-roader looks and practicality, a good compact SUV is a sure-fire hit with customers.

The wide range of vehicles in this class makes picking one an Herculean task, so we've taken a look at how three of the best offerings (by their buzzScore) from the East fare on paper in a head-to-head - Mazda's CX-5, Nissan's Qashqai and the Kia Sportage.

"Sport" this, "premium" that - it's a wonder you can get anything for £10,000 in the car market these days as cars get bigger and better-equipped, but cutting your new car budget to sensible levels thankfully doesn't mean losing out on a great car.

carwow has compiled a list of the ten best cars available for under £10,000 brand new based on our aggregated buzzScore ratings - and not only are the cars great, but there's real variety too.

Despite what some critics may tell you, electric cars are now very much a realistic transport option for some drivers.

But if you buy one, will it save you any money on running costs? We've compared the Renault Zoe to its nearest equivalents in Renault's own range - a petrol and diesel Clio. You may be surprised to read the results...

A while ago we looked at five ways of improving your fuel economy without making any changes in driving style.

Simply by removing excess weight from your car, removing roof boxes and other exterior fittings, correctly inflating your tyres, planning ahead and turning off your engine in heavy traffic, it gives your car the best chance of ekeing out a few extra miles per gallon.

But there's a lot more you can do to save fuel if you're prepared to alter your driving style too - and it's a lot easier than you might think.

Last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced his plans for the year ahead, in the 2013 Budget.

The famous red briefcase contained plenty of details that could affect many of the UK's motorists - so we've looked into just what the Budget means for Britain's drivers.

Buying a city car no longer means settling for an inferior product. Today, the best city cars have respectable performance, good levels of equipment and safety, and outstanding fuel efficiency.

We've run through our database of aggregated reviews to separate the good from the average - read on to find out which city car is best to buy!