Car5

The new SEAT Tarraco large SUV, launched here last month, has achieved a maximum five-star safety rating from testing organisation Euro NCAP, writes Trish Whelan . The car went through meticulous testing to determine its safety credentials and scored 97pc for adult protection, 84pc for child occupant protection, 79pc for vulnerable road users, and 79pc for safety assist. Safety stems include Emergency Assist, Blind Spot Detection, and Exit Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Traffic jam assist and Light Assist as options, while it has also introduced two new safety systems for the first time: Pre-Crash Assist and Rollover Assist. The Pre-Crash Assist can react in just 0.2 seconds should it detect an accident is about to happen, tightening seatbelts, activating hazard lights, rolling up the windows and closing the sunroof. - all helping protect the passenger compartment. Rollover Assist, if activated, will activate the curtain airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners. Front Assist ...

Subaru’s XV Crossover and new Forester e-Boxer will be the first two electrified models from the brand for Europe, writes Trish Whelan . Both were unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.   Both models feature custom-built horizontally-opposed powertrains combining motor-assist with Boxer technology and Symmetrical All Wheel Drive. The e-Boxer is the brand’s new generation power unit system which combines Motor Assist with a Boxer engine and Symmetrical AWD. The system adjusts the power-split ratio between the 2.0 direct-injection engine and the electric motor. Three driving modes are offered: Engine driving, EV driving, and Motor Assist driving. Forester: The fifth-generation Forester, now with a more rugged style, is safer than ever, is the most technologically-advanced Subaru in the current European line-up and is equipped with new Advanced Safety technologies. It is also the roomiest and most capable Forester yet.   Built on the Subaru Global Platform it offers su...

On this Best of Greece tour, discover the best of historic and mythical as well as modern-Greece. As the birthplace of Western civilization, Greece has some of the world's most fascinating archaeological sites. Your tour starts and ends in Athens, with overnight stops along the way in Nauplia, Sparta, Olympia, Delphi, and Kalambaka. Step back in time as you visit some of Greece's ancient sites where the Mycenaean civilization thrived in Greece between 1600 and 1200 BC. At the Mycenae archaeological site, learn about this civilization as you enjoy guided sightseeing of the monuments erected here between 1350 and 1200 BC. In Athens, visit the Acropolis, still standing after 2,500 years. Dedicated to the goddess Athena, the Acropolis sits high on a rocky hill and is a symbol of the wealth and power of Athens at its apex. Visit the amazingly well-preserved, 2,300-year-old open-air theatre in Epidaurus and marvel at the perfect acoustics. You'll step back in history-bu...

When I picked up the Kona Electric from Hyundai Ireland in Dublin I took a side trip to Sandyford before heading down to my home in mid-Kildare, writes Brian Byrne . The following early morning I drove to Dublin Airport, coming back the next evening. By the time I was home again, I still had 63pc of battery charge left. That's a rather long way of saying that the Kona Electric is a very reassuring car, because I had driven to that point 171 kilometres. Which you may recall, was about a good total range for the early Nissan Leafs which were the vanguard of Irish electric cars. It shows how things have progressed in a relatively few years in this business. So do the sales figures for the first two months of this year, with more than 1,100 electric cars registered, compared to 176 for the same period last year. The Kona Electric is the biggest chunk, 42pc, of these, with Nissan's latest Leaf not far behind. The Kona Electric comes with a stated (and real, in my experienc...

Renault Ireland is the title sponsor of the 2019 GAA World Games, officially launched at Croke Park last week, and which will bring some 1,300 players from 10 regions around the globe home to play this summer, writes Trish Whelan . Renault Ireland is also the official car partner of the GAA and GPA. This will mark the third-ever staging of the competition with the 2019 Renault GAA World Games set to be the biggest and best yet. The initial stages of the event will be played out at the Sports Campus of Waterford Institute of Technology in Carriganore from 28 July to 1 August, with the finals taking place on 2 August at Croke Park. Pictured above at the announcement of the sponsorship in Croke Park were:  Dessie Dolan, former Westmeath footballer and Renault Ambassador; Boidu Sayeh, Westmeath Senior Football team; Lyndsey Davey, Dublin Senior Women’s Football team; Nathan Dolan (6); Kay May Magee (8); Paddy Magee, Country Operations Director, Renault Ireland...

Volkswagen has increased the number of electric vehicle models it intends to introduce by 2028 to 70, instead of the 50 previously planned, writes Brian Byrne . The company says this will result in 22 million EVs being built on the group's electric platforms over the next decade. Volkswagen also plans to be carbon-neutral as a group in all its processes by 2050. Volkswagen is planning a range of dedicated electric cars in the next few years, beginning with the 2020 MY ID Neo.

Ian White. Pic: Trevor Foster. In a dramatic finish to the season which began last September, the duel for the Hewison Trophy Autotest Championship ended yesterday in a tie, with the two protagonists equal on points after twelve counting rounds, and as they had identical scores event by event, the tie deciding regulation was unable to separate them, writes Richard Burke . Defending title holder Ian White from Kilkenny and his challenger, Meath’s Guy Foster, were level on points as they went into the final double header weekend organised by Carrick-on-Suir MC in Waterford city, and they scored a win and a second place each, with White opening the battle by taking a 3.8 second victory on Saturday. However, yesterday started badly for the Kilkenny man, with a mistake on the opening test costing him six seconds to Foster, and he was never able to recover from this, although he did manage to reduce the gap to 2.2 by the finish. Local Waterford driver Paddy Power fin...