Car10

A new Nissan all-electric small car will be coming to Europe, writes Brian Byrne . The new car will replace the Micra as the brand's entry level car. It will be manufactured in France. Further details on dates, specifications and price will be revealed in due course.  

If you want the most valuable Ford Mustang ever, you'll have shell out more than $4 million, that's if the new owner wants to sell, writes Brian Byrne . A 1965 Ford Shelby GT350 Competition, Shelby American's first Mustang built for racing, was recently sold at auction in Florida for $4,070,000, an enhancement over its last sale in 2020, where it fetched $3.85 million. And as a by the way, the famous 'Bullitt' Mustang driven on screen by Steve McQueen only sold for $3.4 million at a separate auction in 2020.  

Volkswagen's ID.3 and ID.4 electric cars were the best selling all-electric cars in 2021, garnering a combined 31ps of the battery electric vehicle market, writes Brian Byrne . There will be further additions to the ID range in 2022 with the ID.5 and ID.5 GTX. With 1,432 registrations, the ID.4 became the most popular BEV vehicle in Ireland, while the ID.3 was the second best-selling BEV model in the country with 1,271 registrations.  

I have noted before in these columns that 2021 was a year of many Mercedes-Benz new cars for review, writes Brian Byrn e. Perhaps in 2022 it's going to be another carmaker's turn to dominate the space, but in the meantime it seems fitting that I finish out on the flagship of the range, the S-Class. The 'S' comes from the original designation in 1972 of Sonderklasse for the top of the line car, meaning 'special class'. At the time it was just that. Today it still is. Traditionally, in addition to offering the ultimate in luxury, the S-Class has been the model by which Mercedes-Benz has introduced technical and safety innovations. That tradition remains, but the difference now that it takes a much shorter time before these find their way right through the models down the line. So much of the technical side I had already experienced before my time with the S-Class for this review. To some extent, it has in recent years been difficult to distinguish between the cor...

Joint Chairmen of the Irish Car of the Year Committee, Anthony Conlon and Cathal Doyle, studying the form of the candidates for the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year awards 2022 and watched over by Tom Dennigan (centre) from awards sponsor Continental Tyres. The 35 candidates for the 2022 Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year awards have been announced, and the category and overall winners will be announced in early February, writes Brian Byrne . There were no 2021 awards because of the pandemic. Half of the contenders are available as electric vehicles, which Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland says is a 'stark indication of the revolution that is occurring in motoring today'. The winning cars will be chosen by a panel of Irish motoring journalists. The categories are Compact Car, Medium Car, Large Car, Luxury Car, Performance Car, Small Crossover/SUV and Medium Crossover/SUV. The competing models are Audi e-tron GT, Audi Q4 e-tron, BMW iX, BMW M3/M4, Citroen ...

Toyota Ireland closed out 2021 with a 12.44pc share of the new car market, reflected by having four of its models in the Irish top ten sellers, writes Brian Byrne . More than nine in ten of the brand's sales were for its low emission self-charging hybrid electric vehicles. Toyota sold 13,053 passenger cars in 2021, which represents more than a 30pc year-on-year increase. The second biggest selling brand was Volkswagen with 12.02pc market share, followed by Hyundai (10.24pc, Skoda (8.6pc) and Ford (7.10pc). The top selling models were Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Toyota C-HR.  

Employees at Volkswagen Ireland raised €25,000 for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland during 2021, writes Brian Byrne . The Society was the Group's charity partner for the year and the funds were raised with a number of activities. Because of the pandemic, the events were held online and included a virtual tea morning and online auctions and raffles. The highlight initiative was September’s We Walk The World challenge which saw Volkswagen Group Ireland staff walk, run and cycle 45,307km around the world in aid of the charity. Alan Bateson, Board Member responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility, said it was a collective effort by the staff of Volkswagen Group Ireland and Volkswagen Financial Services Ireland. "The fact people threw themselves into this fundraising effort with such dedication is a measure of just how highly the Alzheimer Society of Ireland is perceived by our companies and in Ireland as a whole," he said. "I am extremely proud of everyone’s effor...

Mobility solutions specialist, easytrip is reminding motorists who are planning a purchase or sale of a vehicle during the 221-registration period to update their easytrip account details to avoid receiving any unanticipated toll charges, writes Brian Byrne . In addition to enabling toll payments, the easytrip tag can be used to pay for parking and car washes, providing a safe and easy payment solution for motorists that reduces card touch points or cash handling. If a driver buys a new vehicle and transferred the existing tag to it but forgets to update their easytrip account details, there's a potential risk if the driver has travelled through the M50 toll plaza as the new vehicle registration is not connected to their tag account meaning the driver may receive a toll bill (billed at the higher rate) and a penalty charge for the journey. If someone has sold their vehicle and inadvertently left the tag in the car and has not updated their toll tag account, the new owner may conti...

A facelift to the C5 Aircross SUV has just been revealed by Citroen which primps up the front and rear and offers more customisation, writes Brian Byrne . Inside, the driver gets a new 10" infotainment screen, and a redesigned main digital display. The seats have been improved with extra memory foam, there are changes to the seat trim, and there's also soft-touch Alcantara finish on the dashboard of some grades. Irish pricing and specification for the New C5 Aircross SUV will be announced in March with first vehicles expected to arrive on Irish shores in June.  

Electronics maker Sony is considering getting into the car business, the latest in a run of non-traditional entry prospects, writes Brian Byrne . Shown at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Japanese company's Vision-S 02 concept is an electric crossover. It's not the first time Sony has signalled car-making ambitions ... the latest concept is a follow up to the Vision-S electric sedan concept presented at CES two years ago.  

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its Vision EQXX concept car at the CES 2022 Show in Las Vegan, writes Brian Byrne . The car has a claimed range of more than 1,000kms on a charge, with rooftop solar panels providing 25kms of this. A new generation battery is said to be small enough to drive a compact car, and energy consumption is in the region less than 10 kWh per 100 kilometres.  

The upcoming Renault Austral crossover is now in final stages of production and testing, writes Brian Byrne . A hundred pre-production Australs are about to be driven across France, Spain, Germany and Romania by 900, covering 600,000km of open roads in real-life conditions. A further 1,400,000km will take place on test tracks. The Austral will be powered only by petrol-hybrid engines, including the latest-generation E-Tech hybrid, a 1.3 TCe unit with a 12V mild hybrid solution and, for the first time in the Renault range, a 1.2 TCe unit with 48V mild hybrid technology. Further details closer to launch later this year.  

Though the Ford Fiesta nameplate has been around since 1976, it is by no means the oldest car model name in the world, writes Brian Byrne . That title belongs to the Chevrolet Suburban, a name that goes back to 1934 and is today a large SUV. But Fiesta is a staple of Ford's European cars portfolio, where it is once again the smallest of the blue oval's current offerings now that the Ka has been discontinued. In its seventh generation since 2018, a total of some 16 million Fiestas have been rolled out of assembly plants, in this part of the world as well as in south and central American countries, China, India, Asia and South Africa. Now, though, it is only produced in Europe. It had been a while since I drove one until a recent stint in the car which in some ways surprised me how well it is managing in a segment that's arguably the most competitive. A refresh is due in a few months, but in true Ford fashion the essentials including the powertrain will roll on through. My r...