Car5

The new A6 saloon benefits from many of the refinements and innovations of the premium German car maker’s acclaimed latest A8 luxury flagship so it comes crammed with high tech features, writes Trish Whelan . It’s also a stunning looking car, and slightly larger than its predecessor which means a bit more inside space.   With its beautifully proportioned new body and taut surfaces, sharp edges and smart horizontal lines, it really looks the part when viewed from every angle.   Think long bonnet, long wheelbase, short overhangs and an aggressive looking front end with eagle eyed lights and a really big radiator grille that could gobble you up whole. The car is also low slung, so you sit low down and feel the whole experience of the drive. This also aids visibility. At the rear, the wide, flat twin exhausts are a really striking feature.   The interior is perhaps best-in-class and that’s really saying something as the competition is BMW 5 Series an...

Audi e-tron GT Concept Audi is to set to unveil four all-electric drive cars at the 2019 Geneva Motor show; the Audi 3-tron, the coupe equivalent of the SUV; the e-tron Sportback, the Q4 e-tron concept and the European debut of the e-tron GT concept, writes Trish Whelan . The series versions of these four all-electric cars will be released to the market by the end of 2020. Two further series-production debuts will follow in 2020: the e-tron GT and Q4 e-tron. Audi will give a world premiere showing to the fully electric Formula E race car Audi e-tron FE05 as well as four new plug-in hybrid versions - Audi A6, A7, A8 and Q5.   The 2019 Geneva Motor Show takes place from 7-17 March.

Toyota chose to launch its Aygo city car back in 2005 in the Eternal City of Rome renowned for its awful traffic congestion and for its fearless drivers, and all that honking of horns, writes Trish Whelan . It’s where most cars bear scrapes and dents as badges of honour.   At that launch, we had witnessed an even smaller two-seater Smart car parked on a pedestrian crossing and seemingly getting away with it as nobody paid any attention to it. Anyway, Rome was an inspired choice as we got to drive around the city and even visit The Vatican being able to park in a tiny space on a nearby side street.   Aygo is part of a co-production with PSA Peugeot/Citroen - the Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 - and all were introduced together at the Geneva Motor Show of that year. Upgraded, of course, since then, this little Aygo hatchback is a big package in a small parcel. While billed as a four seater, the rear legroom is suitable really only for small adults or for ch...

Templeogue native William Magahran was a familiar sight to the staff in Rathfarnham Ford’s brand-new showroom in Whitechurch Road, Dublin, this month as he came in to collect his 191 Fiesta — it was his 27th Ford car! Eight-nine years old William has been driving the blue oval since 1964 and has been buying his Fords from Rathfarnham Ford’s Aidan Kane for several decades. Ford clearly runs in the family — his late father drove a total of 25 Ford cars and vans and his daughter is already on her 11th Ford! “I like cars and I change them every other year,” says William, a former sales rep for the Leinster and Munster area. “I’ve always got very good service from Ford and there’s always a dealer round the corner.” He had a particular affection for the Mondeo and was among the first to drive one on the roads here in the 90s. He has carefully documented all the Fords bought — with prices — in a trusty notebook, beginning with that Cortina in 1964, reg plate FZH 125, purchased fo...

A recent surveys carried out by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), supported by Continental Tyres Ireland, shows that 94 per cent of Irish drivers are aware that driving with damaged or dangerous tyres is an offence, writes Trish Whelan . However, alarmingly, some six per cent or potentially 120,000 drivers are leaving themselves open to penalty points or failure of their NCT unless they pay proper attention to their tyres. The survey, carried out to assess the attitude of Irish drivers in relation to the general care and maintenance of their cars, also found that when purchasing a replacement tyre, Irish drivers rely mostly on their local tyre retailer (34 per cent) versus 19 per cent who go to one of the tyre retail chains. In regard to the choice of tyre brand, nearly half of drivers generally depend on the advice of the tyre retailer, franchised dealer or garage contact. Tom Dennigan Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland advises drivers to take more resp...

Skoda will have the World Premiere of its Kamiq SUV at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, writes Trish Whelan . This will be the third model in the Czech car maker’s European SUV portfolio after the Kodiaq and Karoq. Just like those two models, the name Kamiq also originates from the language of the Inuit people who live in northern Canada and Greenland. It means ‘something that fits perfectly’.   Kamiq combines the advantages of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) such as higher ground clearance and an elevated seat position, with the agility of a compact car. The brand believe it equally meets the needs of both families and lifestyle-oriented customers. With this car, Skoda is also tapping into a new, younger target group that pursues a modern, adventure-oriented lifestyle. Boot capacity is 400 litres, expandable to 1,395 when the rear seats are folded down.   Engines are a 3-cylinder 1.0 TSI with 95bhp, and a more powerful 1.0 TSI with 115bhp with a 6-speed manual or ...

Guests attended the official launch of the all-new W.B. Yeats today, Tuesday 26 February, to experience first-hand the cruise-ferry with multiple industry award nominations, writes Trish Whelan . Irish holidaymakers will experience a whole new era of luxury sea travel, with refined accommodation, fine dining and a host of family fun entertainment, as Thursday 14th March marks the first of up to four departures per week from Dublin to France. Measuring an incredible 195m in length and capable of transporting 300 cars and 165 trucks, W.B. Yeats will afford superior comfort to over 1,800 passengers. Departing directly from Dublin Port, the relaxing sailing will take approximately 18 hours, with guests invited to enjoy the luxury of space and sea views, free WiFi, a choice of movies in the cinemas, the chance to shop the bestselling brands, or to simply unwinding in the many bars and restaurants on-board. Setting sail at 16.00 on the days of departure, passengers will arrive in ...

Research by mobility solutions specialist, easytrip, has revealed Irish motorists’ most prominent concerns with the cost of insurance at the top for 68pc of respondents, writes Trish Whelan . Insurance was followed by the cost of fuel (56%) and the condition of the roads (39%). Additional concerns included other road users; the cost of motor tax; the cost of a car service, and the policing of traffic and traffic incidents. The research also showed that one in 10 drivers were unaware of the features of their insurance policy with many of the benefits, or lack of benefits, unknown to the respondents. Nationwide, the standard of driving can vary depending on congestion levels and road conditions, but how do we rate ourselves as drivers? Respondents disclosed the standard as ‘average’, with one in five stating that it was ‘somewhat good’ or ‘not good’ at all. The research also asked how courteous Irish drivers are and it was a close race with 52 per cent of respondents stating ...

A slew of electric urban mini-mobility suggestions at next week's Geneva Motor Show will include a SEAT concept that directly aims at Renault's Twizy quadricycle, writes Brian Byrne . The Minimo concept unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is wider than the Renault, and features proper doors for the driver and the single rear passenger. It also has a replaceable battery pack with a range claim of 100km. Citroen will be showing its Ami One concept, a 2-passenger vehicle where the occupants sit side-by-side. The Geneva show has for many years had a variety of electric and mini vehicles on show, mostly from small manufacturers chasing niche markets. The Twizy brought the market closer to mainstream, and now with the might of the VW Group behind it, SEAT is contemplating a production version of the Minimo.

Peugeot has released pictures of the new generation 208 ahead of its public debut next week at the Geneva Motor Show, writes Brian Byrne . The car is built on a new platform, with more aggressive styling than the outgoing car. In addition to traditional internal combustion engines, the car will also have a fully-electric version with a claimed 340km range. This will directly target the Renault Zoe. The current 208 was introduced in Europe in 2012.

Although I didn't have the time to drive the Suzuki Swift Sport as much as I would have liked, I did get enough on the road experience to figure it out as a very nice car indeed, writes Brian Byrn e. The Swift is arguably the standard bearer of the brand, even if we tend to see more of Suzuki's SUVs on the road. As a supermini it has been somewhat bigger than the segment average, and to some is as good as many compact family hatches. The exterior is pleasing, a continuation of the style cues of a car that once took the Irish Car of the Year accolade. Styling which is standing well over time. For the Sport variant, there's a more pushy front end treatment, and a 'floating' roof theme made visually possible by blacking out the pillars. The car is also lower than its predecessor. Larger alloys complete the special picture. The interior has good accommodation for four adults, and a decent boot. The inside is of good quality, though perhaps not up that that a...

This Cupra Formentor is a concept to be shown at Geneva next week which will preview the first production hybrid car from the now stand-alone Cupra brand, writes Brian Byrne . Formerly a badging designation for performance versions of SEAT cars, Cupra was established as a brand of its own last year. The first model was a 296hp Cupra Ateca, based on the SEAT Ateca SUV. It is planned that there will soon be seven Cupra models on sale. The Formentor's plug-in powertrain has a combined output of 242hp, with a 50km range on electric power alone.

Mercedes-Benz is testing its EQC electric car in Sweden in advance of its market launch later this year, writes Brian Byrne . Around 200 prototypes of the car have covered several million kilometres on four continents, and the Swedish tests are concentrating on thermal management of the interior and the battery in winter conditions. Other areas of interest include recharging in cold conditions and how well energy recuperation can happen while driving on ice and snow. Since there is no waste heat as in an internal combustion engine to heat the interior of the car, the battery must do that as well as providing adequate driving range. One interesting detail is that lowering the interior temperature and compensating by using the seat heating is more energy efficient.

Open to all sectors of the Irish Motor Industry, ten Award Categories in total were presented at SIMI’s Annual Dinner Industry Awards last evening by Brian Cooke, Director General Designate of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, and Derek McDermott, Managing Director of Bank of Ireland Finance, the event sponsors. The winners were those companies that had demonstrated an award-winning level of excellence and best practice over the last 12 months, as adjudicated by an independent panel. A special recognition award, in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority, was presented to the Gardai Press Office for their contribution towards road safety. Director General Alan Nolan received a special recognition award for outstanding service, with 40 years service to SIMI.   Pictured above are SIMI President Gerard O’Farrell, Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn; Moyagh Murdock, Chief Executive Road Safety Authority; Andrew McLindon, Garda Press Office; Brian Cooke, SIMI Dire...