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It won’t be long until you’ll be hearing Christmas carols wherever you turn, and the shops will be jammed pack with eager shoppers keen to snap up some pre-Christmas bargains. On the other hand, you could be sat in the warm, reading the latest copy of your favourite magazine. The special festive edition of Diesel Car features our big Christmas crossword, as well as other festive treats. We also bring first news of Nissan’s new Qashqai that’s set to shake up the sector and make an even bigger splash than the first generation car. We’ve been to South Korea to drive the new Soul electric vehicle more than a year before it’s set to reach UK showrooms, as well as testing the Ray EV – a funky little all-electric city car that’s been testing the battery technology for the past couple of years. There’s first tests of the facelifted Audi A8 and Land Rover Discovery, and we get behind the wheel of the latest Alfa Romeo Giulietta equipped with the 148bhp 2.0-litre JTDM-2 engine. We have also driven the new BMW X5 on UK tarmac for the first time and sampled Peugeot’s super-frugal 208 HYbrid FE. We have a pair of estate challengers this month, as Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class meets Jaguar’s XF Sportbrake, while the new seven-seat Kia Carens faces its arch-rival the Renault Grand Scenic. There’s also tests of the Citroën DS3 Cabrio, the new cleaner Nissan Juke 1.5 dCi and Skoda’s Superb Estate in low emissions GreenLine III specification. There’s a full report on this year’s MPG Marathon, including a race against the clock to get a brand new model, not even available in UK showrooms yet, to the start line in time for scrutineering. We also take a new Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer on a road trip exploring Christmas markets. There’s a comprehensive gift guide in this month’s issue too, all chosen by our resident Gadget Inspector. And far from choosing expensive treats that are likely to break the bank, we gave him a strict budget to keep within, and I’m sure you’ll be excited by th