The planned 3p-a-litre rise in fuel duty has been delayed until January.

News that Chancellor George Osborne is to postpone the rise in duty, was made on the HM Treasury Twitter account, @hmtreasury, at just before 3pm today. The Tweet said it was to 'help with the cost of living'.

Labour had earlier called on the Government to delay the duty rise, which was due to come into force on August 1.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls told the BBC that the Government should delay the increase in an attempt to stimulate the economy, which is back in recession.

'A sensible chancellor takes off his ideological blinkers and does the right thing for the economy and for families,' Balls told Radio 4's Today programme.

He suggested that delaying the rise until January would cost between £500m and £600m, but the £500m saved by the Olympics coming in under budget could offset this loss.

Ed Balls said: 'Difficult decisions are needed to get the deficit down. That's why Labour put up fuel duty in the past, but we often delayed or cancelled planned duty rises based on the circumstances at the time – including at the height of the global financial crisis.'

He also pointed out that global oil prices have fallen by 20% since the start of the year.

AA president Edmund King said: 'We welcome the fact that pump prices have come down over the past few weeks, but the markets are still volatile.

'The AA believes that duty should be frozen because this pumps more consumer spending money into the broader economy.'

Pete Barden & Tom Webster

The Fiat Punto Twinair has just gone on sale in the UK, joining the 500 and Panda in getting the manufacturer's turbocharged two-cylinder 'Twinair' engine.

Although we've already put the car through its paces in Europe, this is the first chance we've had to drive it on British roads.

It certainly stands out; the Fiat Punto Twinair benefits from a few styling embellishments over the rest of the range, including two-tone alloys, gloss black mirrors and door pillars, and burnished, darkened headlamps.

The Twinair is also the only Punto available in 'Unplugged Green' paint.

What's the 2012 Fiat Punto Twinair like to drive?
First impressions hit you right in the eardrums, due mostly to the noisy two-cylinder engine.

Fiat's engineers have deliberately tuned the exhaust for a throaty note, but with questionable success – it sounds loose and flaccid; more glottal than guttural. OK, there's a certain amount of pleasure in firing it up. However, if the gurgly thrum isn't to your taste, it could quickly wear thin.


Fiat Punto Twinair is noisy, but its turbo ensures it's powerful enough

Noisiness aside, this tiny engine impresses thanks to its turbo. It's got more than enough power to get you away from the lights quickly and is unfazed by inclines.

It can hold its own on the motorway, too, and once you're settled at a steady cruise the engine becomes much less vocal.

As a bonus, a tremor-absorbing dual mass flywheel – unique to the Punto Twinair – means the vibrations that two-cylinder engines are renowned for are impressively subdued.


Vibrations in the cabin from two-cylinder engine are kept to a minimum

The ride is mostly smooth, too, although the Punto isn't completely immune to imperfections in the road surface and there's a fair amount of body movement if the road isn't entirely even.

The controls are rather vague, but they are at least light and easy to use.

What's the 2012 Fiat Punto Twinair like inside?
Fiat has refreshed the interior right across the Punto range, and to good effect. Smooth sweeping lines and subtly lit dials combine with black gloss panelling and chrome-effect detailing to lend the cabin a sophisticated feel.


There's a sophisticated feel to the Fiat Punto Twinair's cabin

The seats are comfortable and well padded, too, and overlaid with Sportex mesh-like fabric that's been engineered to keep passengers cool in hot weather.

As with all Puntos, front electric windows are standard, while the Twinair also gets air-conditioning. However, it's disappointing that Bluetooth connectivity and aux-in and USB sockets are standard on only the range-topping Lounge model.

More positively, there's room for four adults in the Punto and the boot is pretty large and well shaped.

Should I buy one?
If you're looking for a roomy supermini that's exempt from road tax and the London Congestion Charge, the Punto Twinair stacks up well on paper.

It's more than £2000 cheaper than diesel rivals such as the Ford Fiesta Econetic and VW Polo Bluemotion. What's more, if you buy before September, Fiat will slash £1000 off the list price and throw in £1090-worth of extras, including cruise control, climate control, rear parking sensors and the Blue&Me infotainment package (which includes Bluetooth and smartphone compatibility).

Bear in mind, though, if your annual mileage is high, diesel models could still make more financial sense; our experience suggests they get much closer to their official fuel economy figures than Fiat's Twinair engine.


You might struggle to get close to the Twinair's claimed average fuel economy

The best diesel rivals are also better to drive and a lot more refined.

Read the full Fiat Punto review

Rivals:
Ford Fiesta
VW Polo

What Car? says…


Emma Butcher

The Skoda Rapid is a brand new small family car from Skoda, sitting between the Fabia and Octavia in the range. However, it's much closer in size to the larger of those two cars; in fact, it's 30cm longer than our favourite small family car, the Volkswagen Golf.

Despite that, though, the range is expected to cost from less than £13,000, and higher-specified models will undercut a similarly equipped Ford Focus or VW Golf by more than £3000.

What might well also surprise you is that, although the Rapid looks more like a saloon, it's actually a hatchback, with the emphasis on space as much as it is on low prices.

With the car due to go on sale in November, Skoda is yet to confirm full details of the range, but we can expect a line-up of familiar VW Group engines, and a choice of trims in keeping with Skoda's other models: S, SE and Elegance.

What's the 2012 Skoda Rapid like to drive?
We've driven two versions of the Rapid so far: the 1.2 TSI petrol and the 1.6 TDI diesel, both of which have 104bhp and have five-speed manual gearboxes.

That might not sound like much power for such a big car, however both engines suit the car very well. They pull strongly from low revs and respond well through the mid-range, making for easy progress. The 1.2 TSI engine, in particular, is a cracker, pulling across a wider rev range than the diesel and with greater refinement.


It might look like a saloon, but the Skoda Rapid is actually a hatchback

Whichever engine is under the bonnet, the Rapid is a fine car to drive, with well balanced handling and a solid feel on the road. True, it doesn't have the class of, say, a Ford Focus or VW Golf, but it's not far behind.

Around town, the light steering and good visibility to the side and front (if not the rear, where the high bootlid restricts your view) make it easy to manoeuvre, and the Rapid sits securely on the motorway. Only the relatively large amount of wind noise disturbs your otherwise calm progress.

Across country, there's a similarly sure-footed feel through the twists and turns, and you have to be pretty brutal to upset the Rapid's composure. It turns into corners well, and any body roll is well controlled.


The Skoda Rapid is composed and sure-footed, but you pay with a firm ride

The only real downside is that such control and composure have been achieved by relatively firm suspension settings, and the ride can occasionally be a little uncomfortable – especially on the petrol-engined car.

What's the 2012 Skoda Rapid like inside?
It's inside where Skoda's cost-conscious development is most obvious – the simple appearance and back-to-basics nature of the cabin see to that.

However, what the cabin also demonstrates is that there's a difference between being cost-conscious and feeling cheap, because – despite the wide use of hard black plastic, occasionally flimsy/flexible materials and odds and sods from other VW Group models – the last thing the Rapid looks and feels is cheap.


The cabin uses economy materials, but it certainly doesn't feel cheap as a result

In fact, if you avoid the all-black interior and choose some contrasting colours on the dashboard and doors, the cabin is a smart, classy space. There's certainly no faulting the layout of the controls, the amount of stowage up front or the fine driving position, which is achieved by combining a reach- and rake-adjustable steering wheel with generous head- and legroom.


Family-car buyers will be impressed by the Skoda Rapid's rear legroom and access

However, it's the space in the back that will really impress family-car buyers: not only is access to the rear seats excellent, there's as much legroom as there is in the largest small family cars, and only passengers over six feet tall will suffer from any shortage of headroom.

To cap it all, the boot is huge, and accessed through a high-opening, wide tailgate. Never mind it being bigger than a Focus's, it's bigger than a Mondeo's, and we have only two quibbles: first, the 60/40 split rear seats don't fold down completely flat because the bases are fixed; and, secondly, it's quite a drop from the sill to the boot floor, making it awkward to load and unload heavy items.

Should I buy one?
This is a hard question to answer, given that the most important elements in the equation – the price and specification – are still a couple of months away from being confirmed.

However, what our brief experience of the car has shown is that it has real potential. It's a spacious and practical car that's also a fine vehicle to drive; and, at a time when value-for-money is a top priority for most, the Rapid is sure to tempt Focus and Golf buyers. It will even tempt those who are turning towards so-called 'budget' brands such as Kia and Hyundai.


The boot is huge – bigger than a Ford Mondeo's, in fact

There's no doubt the Rapid should be on the shopping list of anyone in the market for a small family car – and with the right package of kit and cost, it could well be at the top of that list.

If you want to wait, sister car, the Seat Toledo is launching in the spring of next year.

Read the full Skoda Rapid review >>

Rivals:
Hyundai i30
Kia Cee'd

What Car? says…


Andy Pringle

Asda and Sainsbury's say they will cut the price of fuel at their petrol stations from Tuesday.

Asda is cutting the price of its diesel and petrol by 2p a litre. It says a litre of unleaded will cost no more than 127.7p, while diesel will cost no more than 132.7p.

It says it has cut fuel prices by 14p a litre since April.

Sainsbury's announced on Twitter that it will cut its fuel prices 'by up to 2p a litre' from tomorrow.

According to the AA, the average price of a litre of unleaded across the country is 133.8p, while a litre of diesel costs 139.3p on average.

However, fuel prices are soon set to rise, with a planned 3p per litre increase in fuel duty expected on August 1.

Iain Reid