New rules for new drivers

Thu, Oct 25, 2012

New drivers will face new rules from next year. The Road Traffic Act that is currently in preparation will have a number of eye-catching provisions and the group most affected will be young people learning how to drive.

Knockranny House Hotel wins AA Hotel of the Year

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

There are some things in Ireland that we are really genuinely good at. OK, so soccer isn’t one of them these days, but hospitality is.

Stylish and accessible new Ford B-Max arrives

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

The new Ford B-Max, featuring a unique design and new small car technology among the most advanced in Europe, has arrived in Ireland, with an entry level price of €19,170 for the 1.4 petrol and €21,840 (both ex-works) for the 1.5 diesel version. The former slots in to the current Band B for VRT and road tax, while the latter is in Band A.

Skoda new special edition Octavia Exclusive

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

Skoda Ireland tells us that their biggest selling car, the Octavia, has undergone a specification enhancement for 2013. Having made its first public appearance at the National Ploughing Championships in September, the new Octavia Exclusive has now gone on sale in both hatchback and Combi (estate) body styles.

Knockranny House Hotel wins AA Hotel of the Year

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

There are some things in Ireland that we are really genuinely good at. OK, so soccer isn’t one of them these days, but hospitality is.

Stylish and accessible new Ford B-Max arrives

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

Skoda new special edition Octavia Exclusive

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

Safe Journey – Ireland’s battle against road death

Thu, Oct 11, 2012

Last week business and pleasure coincided for me nicely: I found myself in Co. Sligo, where I have roots and relatives aplenty. I was giving an address to the annual conference of the National Irish Safety Organisation at the Radisson Blu hotel so I was able to spend part of my afternoon looking out at the magnificent view across the harbour. It’s never a hardship to go West.

New Mazda6 wagon adds to the saloon line-up

Thu, Oct 11, 2012

Mazda premiered the new Mazda6 at the 2012 Moscow Motor Show a couple of months ago, and added to that with the launch of the Mazda6 wagon at the recent Paris Motor Show.

New Kia cee’d Sportswagon arrives in Ireland

Thu, Oct 11, 2012

Following a press launch in Galway last weekend, the new Kia cee’d Sportswagon goes on sale in Ireland from today (October 1.).

The new second-generation five-door hatchback, which is more sophisticated, more refined, more efficient, and delivers a more engaging driving experience than its predecessor, is surpassed by the new Sportswagon. With a competitive diesel model entry price of €21,795, it goes further still.

New Golf BlueMotion promises amazing 88.3mpg

Thu, Oct 11, 2012

The new seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf made its debut at the recent Paris Motor Show and it will go on sale here in December. It is a near perfect evolution of the current model with enough styling changes inside and out to excite, but not having gone too far to upset any members of the biggest golf club in the world, writes Padraic Deane.

Gender rules about to hit motorists hard

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Sex matters. It is about to matter a lot more. From December it becomes illegal for an insurance company to notice what gender you are when selling you insurance.

This will have massive implications for motor insurance and unfortunately a lot of Irish people just don’t know that it is coming. It had been in the news a bit since the European Court of Justice made its ruling last year but very few people realise that it is about to hit them hard.

Innovation and world first brings higher safety

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Six new models have recently undergone safety tests: the Audi A3, Ford B-MAX, Isuzu D-Max, Kia Cee’d, Renault Clio and Volvo V40. Euro NCAP reports how these vehicle measure up against the latest requirements and finds encouraging trends.

Opel Astra range gets more style and substance

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Opel is hoping to build on the success of its big selling compact car with the introduction of the newly updated Astra range.

Seat updates its model range and pricing to boost market share

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Seat, the Spanish car brand in Ireland, is set to undergo a radical overhaul of its operations and customer offering as the company prepares to grow its market share to 3.5 per cent by 2017.

‘Hands-free’ phone use legal, but still a bad habit

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

If there is one fool proof way to drive another motorist mad it is to use a mobile phone. It really is one of those behaviours that seems to get right under people’s skin. You can see it every day. Stand on a roundabout in any Irish town and in minutes you will see examples of the ‘one armed bandits’ – phone in one hand and steering wheel in the other.

Ford reveals stylish new Fiesta

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

Ford has revealed the dynamic new version of the best-selling Fiesta that features a sharper design and a host of exclusive technology features.

Nissan recalls some Qashqai and Qashqai +2 models

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

Nissan Ireland is recalling 1,145 Qashqai and Qashqai +2 models as a result of a steering wheel issue that has been identified in Europe.

Total Recall – no need to panic if your car is ‘recalled’

Thu, Sep 20, 2012

Our email post-bag received a flurry of queries this week about a recall of Nissan vehicles that got national media attention.

It is a bit alarming to be sure. A problem came to light with the steering wheel mounting on certain models of Qashqai, with one report from Finland about the steering wheel actually coming adrift in the driver’s hand.