CAR makers are now keener than ever to cover every angle of the market, and now it is the turn of Mazda to take a leap into the unknown with the unveiling of a new European off-roader.

The firm's CX-7, a crossover sports utility vehicle (SUV) went on display at the Paris Motor Show this week and the firm says it possesses a unique combination of sports-car driving fun, bold design, and SUV practicality.

It's already on sale in the States, a market for which it was initially specifically designed, but Paris is the first outing for the European version, which should go on sale in Britain early next spring.

The Mazda CX-7 features a six-speed manual transmission, and the stylish 4x4 is likely to initially come with a 2.0-litre petrol power pack.

Volkswagen, meanwhile, is out to boost its presence in the family car sector with the revealing at Paris of its new Touran MPV.

With a fresher appearance, the revised seven-seater people carrier looks set to continue the model's success.

Innovation is in there, too, and the new Touran will be the first Volkswagen available with ParkAssist, an optional parking guidance system developed by VW's engineers.

ParkAssist enables automatic parking, using front and rear ultrasonic sensors to detect available parking space and a control unit to calculate the ideal manoeuvring path.

Acoustic and visual displays guide the driver to the correct parking start position, then once reverse gear is selected, the car parks itself in under 15 seconds.

That will be a boon for anyone who has problems with tricky parking slots - all the driver has to do in those 15 seconds is accelerate and brake - the Touran does all the steering.

The system is likely to be available in the UK with the vehicle from June 2007.

Appearance-wise, the revised Touran has a new radiator grille and headlights, which are similar to those of the recently-launched Eos coupe cabriolet. At the back, the Touran gets new rear lights and a modified bumper, while inside, there are new fabrics and stainless steel trim, and an MP3-compatible radio/CD player.

For the UK market, the Touran line-up of S, SE and Sport trims remains, while engines will be rationalised to include two petrol and four diesel units.

These will be 1.6-litre and 1.4-litre petrols, plus 1.9-litre and 2.0-litre turbo diesels, each offered with varying power outputs.

The new Touran will go on sale in Britain early next year, with VW confirming prices closer to the launch date.

It should prove a winner - the current Touran went on sale in the UK in summer 2003, and has enjoyed sales here of more than 32,700 units since launch.

Finally - while still on the show track - Fiat brought a little Italian flair to the Viva Italia exhibition in London, by showing the Oltre, a large four-wheel-drive aimed at the military market.

The firm has already won a contract to sell the Oltre to the British Army, and it can perform a wide range of functions over difficult terrain.

The giant 4x4 is powered by a turbocharged 3.0-litre diesel engine through a six-speed automatic transmission, and, despite weighing more than seven tonnes, the Oltre has a top speed of more than 70mph.

The vehicle - almost five metres long and just over two metres in height - has a payload of about three tonnes, can seat up to five people while negotiating longitudinal gradients of 80 per cent, and tackle rivers, lakes, and streams up to 1.5 metres in depth.