France’s Renault has traveled to a trade show in Birmingham, England, to unveil the facelifted Master full-size van. Sold all across Europe, the Master is aimed at the Fiat Ducato (known as the Ram ProMaster in the U.S.), the Ford Transit and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

The bulk of the updates are found under the hood, where the Master gains a 2.3-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel dCi engine available with either 110, 125 135 or 165 horsepower. All variants of the four-banger promise to return better fuel mileage while providing the Master with more grunt to haul cargo around.

In addition to a cleaner engine, the Master features an ECOmode function that saves fuel by adjusting the engine’s torque output and the settings of the climate control system. The ECOmode is primarily designed to be used when the van is empty.

Renault has added a host of electronic safety features to the Master including a Hill Start Assist, the latest generation of the automaker’s load-based Electronic Stability Control, a Trailer Swing Assist and an Extended Grip function that helps the van tackle tough conditions such as ice, mud and sand.

The updates carried out to the front end of the van are minor and largely limited to a new radiator grille adorned by an oversized version of Renault’s trademarked lozenge emblem.

The updated 2014 Renault Master will go on sale across Europe this summer. It will continue to be offered in a dizzying array of wheelbase lengths, heights and body styles including both cargo- and passenger-carrying variants.

The Nissan NV400 and the Opel Movano, the Master’s badge-engineered twins, will undergo similar updates over the coming months.

Positioned directly below the Golf, the Polo stretches 156.3 inches long, 66.8 inches wide and 57.2 inches tall, dimensions that make it a little over three inches shorter than a Ford Fiesta hatchback. Both the five-door and the three-door variants of the city car boast 9.8 cubic feet of trunk space, a figure that grows to 33.6 when the second row of seats is folded flat.

It admittedly takes a well-trained eye to tell the facelifted Polo apart from its predecessor. Visually, the hatchback features only discreet evolutionary modifications such as a new radiator grille accented by a lone chromed slat, a redesigned front bumper with a large air intake, available LED headlights and redrawn tail lamps. Six new alloy wheel designs and eight additional body colors round out the updates, but, generally speaking, the conservative Golf-inspired look carries over unchanged.

Quiet Revolution
The story is different beneath the skin, where Volkswagen has made the Polo more efficient and quieter thanks to a long list of updates that are largely invisible to the naked eye. For starters, the outgoing Polo’s entire lineup of engines was tossed out in favor of three- and four-cylinder units that are either brand new or new to the lineup.

The gasoline offering currently includes five engines rated at 59, 73, 88, 93 and 108 horsepower, respectively. A 147-horsepower BlueGT model equipped with automatic cylinder shut-off and a range-topping GTI-badged hot hatch that boasts 189 ponies will round out the lineup later this year.

Buyers who prefer oil-burners can pick between three TDI turbodiesels available with 73, 88 or 103 horsepower. The headline-grabber is a 1.4-liter three-cylinder turbodiesel unit that will gradually be offered on other Volkswagen products including the Golf.

Volkswagen put a big emphasis on gas mileage when updating the Polo, and the most efficient BlueMotion-badged model is powered by specially-tuned version of the aforementioned 1.4-liter TDI engine officially rated at 75 mpg in a mixed European cycle. To further improve efficiency all across the board, a start/stop system and a regenerative braking system are both standard on cars with an output of 90-horsepower or greater.

The California division of OSHA cited Tesla with a total of seven safety violations, six of which were considered “serious,” for a November 13 accident that seriously injured three workers. The incident occurred when a low-pressure aluminum casting press failed, spilling molten metal on the workers.

“Molten metal was released splattering the three victims, the victims’ clothing caught fire, they stopped and rolled on the floor,” Cal-OSHA wrote in the report, which was obtained by the San Jose Mercury News. “The safety department called 911. The Fremont Fire Department arrived within 10 minutes, approximately.”

All three employees involved in the accident suffered second- and third-degree burns. Two of the employees have since returned to work, while the third is still recuperating after sustaining burns across his hands, stomach, hip, lower back and ankles.

OSHA ruled that poor maintenance and a broken safety interlock caused the accident. OSHA also found that Tesla didn’t properly train the employees on the equipment and didn’t enforce a policy that required eye and face protection.

Tesla plans to appeal the fines.

“We take safety extremely seriously and have taken numerous steps to ensure nothing like it happens again,” the company said in a statement. “We fully shut down the low-pressure die casting operation and decommissioned the equipment. We provided the injured employees with dedicated HR support and maintained full pay beyond that provided by workers’ compensation.”

Tesla also states, citing Bureau of Labor data, that its safety record at the Fremont plant “is nearly twice as good as the automotive industry average.”

Tesla purchased the Fremont plant in late 2010. Now home to the Model S, the plant was formerly a joint-venture facility between Toyota and General Motors.

Approximately 40 percent of customers are opting to equip their Stingray with Chevrolet’s seven-speed manual transmission, while the rest prefer the six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, according to Edmunds.

More than half of buyers are also said to be choosing the Z51 Performance Package, which adds an electronic limited-slip differential, magneto-rheological dampers, upsize brakes and other track-focused upgrades.

For the 2015 model year, Chevrolet is adding a new eight-speed automatic transmission that promises “lightning-fast” shifts. The company claims its 8L90 gearbox performs wide-open-throttle upshifts approximately eight hundredths of a second faster than the dual-clutch transmission in the Porsche 911.

The 2014 Stingray appears to be a hot seller for Chevrolet, inspiring the company earlier this year to raise base prices by $2,000 and increase the Z51 add-on price from $2,800 to $4,000.

“An SUV could be a turbo engine for the first time for us,” the chief executive told Auto Express.

The move would be part of a broader strategy to help the company meet international emissions regulations, while also reducing platform costs through a shared powertrain.

The Urus is expected to be built upon Volkswagen Group’s MLB platform, which will also underpin the next-generation Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne. A turbocharged V8 is therefore viewed as a more natural fit, rather than opting for a V10.

Lamborghini chief designer Felipo Perini cautioned that particular design elements are “changing all the time,” though the current plan is said to be very close to the concept.

“The Urus is amazing, the way it moves,” he said. “Our goal is to preserve this with the production car.”

The company is currently aiming to begin rolling the production version off assembly lines sometime in 2017.

Photo by Mark Elias.