Car / Travel Archive

JULY: MOTOR NEWS

Posted on 02 July 2010 , under Car / Travel

INNOVATIVE NEW MERIVA HERE It's gone from frumpy to sexy, and Opel's new generation Meriva small MAV is now on sale in Ireland at a starting price of €19,995. With three levels of specification and with ESP as standard, the new vehicles powertrains include 1.4 petrols, two turbocharged, as well as 1.3 and 1.7 diesels. Tax bands range B-D.The backward-opening rear side doors make getting

REVIEW: AURIS

Posted on 02 July 2010 , under Car / Travel

UPGRADED AURIS AND THE NAME GAME How a manufacturer names their individual cars can interfere with their place in the sales league tables. For instance, Ford in Ireland group their hatch and saloon variants of their Focus under 'Focus Range'. Which, as it happens, consistently puts the Focus at the top of compact class sales segment here. And they make the most of that fact in

JUNE: MOTOR NEWS

Posted on 19 June 2010 , under Car / Travel

FIVE FOR GIULIETTA When the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, replacement for the 147, gets here at the end of the year, it will have a fully-fledged 5-star Euro NCAP crash test rating in its marketing armoury. The car was given a 97 percent adult occupant rating, 85 percent for child occupant, 63 percent for pedestrian safety and 86 percent for safety assist systems such as

THE CLIMATIC CAR

Posted on 18 June 2010 , under Car / Travel

BMW TAKES ME FROM THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FREEZER I recently had the opportunity to watch BMW cars being tested in the 35degC heat of a North African desert, and in the -20degC cold of northern Norway's mid-winter. And then another one hauling a trailer up a mountainside in the south of France. All in the space of one day, and without leaving one

MAY: MOTORING NEWS

Posted on 01 May 2010 , under Car / Travel

BMW GOES ELECTRIC IN 2013 BMW will launch its Megacity electric drive model in 2013, but using a sub-brand as it does its Mini range. The Megacity will be significantly lighter than conventional cars and is currently being developed as part of ‘project i’. BMW currently has a fleet of electric powered Minis running in the US and Europe to evaluate electric power trains. RENAULT-NISSAN AND DAIMLER

REVIEW: PEUGEOT RCZ

Posted on 01 May 2010 , under Car / Travel

SPORTY PEUGEOT COUPE MAKES STRONG STATEMENT Peugeot are getting into the sports coupe business with a car that has both attitude and style. The new RCZ will dramatically change perceptions of the French brand when it comes here sometime around the end of July. And though in numbers terms, it won't make a significant difference to the distributor's bottom line, it will attract extra buyers

REVIEW: VOLVO S80

Posted on 01 May 2010 , under Car / Travel

LARGE CARS AND GREEN DINOSAURS Maybe I'm latched onto a dinosaur trend, but I still retain a liking for large cars. Fortunately I still get a chance to drive them. Right, buying a Volvo S80 does put you in the relatively expensive car league, although at €34,360 there is an argument that you're getting a nice chunk of metal for relatively affordable money. The review

REVIEW: INSIGHT

Posted on 01 April 2010 , under Car / Travel

Having driven a number of hybrid cars over recent months, I'm still trying to come to terms with where they're at. Particularly in the European context, where there are so many very frugal diesels in all sizes, which provide low CO2 power and in most cases are more satisfying to drive. And mostly they're competitive in price, certainly under the revised VRT rules here

REVIEW: PRIUS

Posted on 01 April 2010 , under Car / Travel

The first thing you notice about the third generation Prius is that it no longer feels so much of a statement. Even as a nameplate, it has moved mainstream. That is also referenced by the fact that the same powertrain as in the new Prius will be the basis for the hybrid version of the Auris when it comes here in the summer. A recent stint

KIDS TRAVEL GAMES

Posted on 01 April 2010 , under Car / Travel

If like thousands of other parents you are planning to travel this year part of you will be dreading the challenge of keeping the kids occupied on the car journey. "Are we there yet" being one of the most dreaded comments a parent will hear from the back of the car. There are lots of things that you can do to distract the kids