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There's no doubt that, if fuel economy is your top priority and you're a high-mileage driver, then the BlueMotion version of the Golf is the car for you. The official combined consumption figure is 3.8 litres/100km (74.3mpg) and it gets pretty close to that. We're consistently amazed by its ability to avoid fill-ups, even when confined to the environs of Dublin. On the motorway it's peerless.

Though it's not quite peerless, as Volkswagen offers the same 1.6-litre TDI engine in the rest of the Golf range. Sure, you do without a list of further…

Picked up the latest Renault Laguna today for test. It received a minor update last year to keep it fresh. In the heady days of 2008 over 2,000 Lagunas were sold in Ireland, but that figure dropped to less than 250 in 2010. The facelift and Renault's offers may help with that.

Anyway, here's the car:

The changes keep it fresh inside and out. Our model is loaded with kit. It has 'Initiale' badges on it, though we believe it's marketed as the Irish Edition. I'll check that out. The leather-lined interior really lifts…

Having spent several months at the wheel of the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion, and then with the Golf Edition-R, it's time to move on. Our next long term test car will be a SEAT Exeo, but before that arrives we have the recently updated Volkswagen Touran for a few weeks. You can read our full road test of the Touran here, and we're going to take this opportunity to compare it to living with a Golf. We suspect that's a decision some growing families will have to make.

First up, and despite cosmetic revisions at…

It's the show that gives two fingers to any economic crisis; the ninth edition of Top Marques Monaco held at Monte Carlo's Grimaldi Forum is under way, showcasing some of the most exotic and expensive offerings the automotive world has seen.

Alongside luxury boats, limited edition watches, rare jewels and art, at Top Marques the super-rich can view and even experience the latest Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin, but also the truly low volume supercar manufacturers. Think Pagani, Koenigsegg, Savage, GTA, Roding, Fisker and new Slovenian supercar builder Tushek. For those needing to upstage…

It has gone suspiciously quiet this week. No doubt all the press offices are waiting for the perfect moment to announce their Geneva Motor Show plans. Opel has already confirmed its line-up, which will include a 280hp OPC version of the new Astra GTC. Alongside will sit a 195hp BiTurbo Insignia, which is the most powerful diesel car yet made by the company. It promises to be clean as well so don't rule it out for the Irish market.

We've already looked at the Mokka crossover, which will be sold here, while we'll not…

SEAT is not one of the big car brands in Ireland. Just 1,763 new SEATs found homes in Ireland in 2011 and the company's best year recently was 2007, with 3,346 cars sold. Half the problem is that its models are not sufficiently differentiated from other Volkswagen Group cars, while here in Ireland most buyers are probably just not very aware of the brand.

That's a shame, as SEAT has always tried to add a little Latin passion to the Group's proven competence. It doesn't go far enough…