Life Motor Reviews

Motor Reviews

Wild weather adds to hybrid appeal 

The wild weather last Monday curtailed my driving but did throw-up another factor in the move to electric debate. It is never a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket and I can only think of the incredible frustration of any driver who owns an electric car and was hit by the massive power outages, which for some people are still not over. It would definitely make me reconsider such a purchase and make the hybrid vehicle more of a no-brainer.

From Alfa to Stelvio: I'm outnumbered by Romeos 

Now and again - less frequently of late I admit - you come across a car that sets the senses tingling. Let me say straight away that was not the case with this week's review motor. Not for me,...

Mustang sallies forth and conquers the world 

Ford is reining in its iconic Pony sports car, the Mustang, to make it safer and more neighbour friendly. But whoa, before you kick off a shoe, the good news is that performance has been...

All dressed up but who will buy Ford's Kuga 'Vignale'? 

I've fought the temptation not to have a bit of a rant this week but ultimately I couldn't help myself. The idea of a perfectly decent Ford crossover being given the so-called expensive 'Vignale' treatment...

Bringing joy to the soul 

As much as I like tootling around with my partner and the dog on our Sundays in the Wicklow Mountains, occasionally it is good to get in a car and take it off for a week by myself and explore a part of the country that's new to me.

Why this new e-Golf shines light on two electric futures 

I think I caught a glimpse of not one, but two futures with this week's review car (nothing like a good dose of the practical present to light up the crystal ball). I was driving Volkswagen's new all-...

X marks the spot for Opel 

If you need any reminding of the surge in demand for SUVs, simply take a look at the European sales statistics from last year.

Kia's big baby is up to chunky challenge 

Kia is having great success with its big SUV, the Sportage, so it is not surprising that a 'baby' Sportage, so to speak, is on the way to join the increasingly crowded compact SUV B-segment.

VW Arteon has style but is not a dedicated follower of fashion 

One of the things that surprises and pleases a lot me is how songs I grew up with are now being sung by my younger daughters. Not because I like them but because they're great songs regardless of...

It's thumbs up but fingers crossed for my Alfa Giulia 

M any years ago, I dreamed of playing the guitar. I mean properly. Not discordant three-chord tricks with more buzzes and clicks than a swarm of bees in a room full of static. The problem was, apart...

Compact class 

Dacia Duster - It's over five years since the Duster was launched in Ireland at a time when the country was gripped by the worst economic recession in decades.

Small Wonders: Little SUVs are big business 

If you are looking for a crossover or small SUV there are plenty to choose from as the sector is booming. We look at some of the best selling stylish and value-for-money models available

Electric cars take centre stage but SUVs still winning with consumers 

'The future is electric' was the clear message from the opening events of the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this week. In the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal and with evidence of harmful...

The pick of the new SUV crop 

Citroen C3 Aircross - The C3 Picasso is no more and has been transformed into a funky crossover that will compete with rivals that include Peugeot's 2008, the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur.

Minority report: let's be 'up front' with new Volvo XC60 

Let me come right out and say I'm not a major fan of how this week's car looks at the front. I think it is far too blunt. Let me also say I am in my accustomed position: I'm in a minority. I just...

Lexus joins the fast lane to challenge big names 

Lexus is accelerating into the fast lane with the arrival of the LC500 luxury grand tourer which will challenge European top models such as the BMW 6 Series, Jaguar S-Type and Porsche 911. It arrives...

Ford still needing top striker final score 

There have been a lot of Fords on my test-drive schedule recently and I'm waiting for the new Fiesta later this month.

Fiesta is at its best when served as a simple dish 

We stopped for lunch high up in the Italian Alps last week. It was 21 degrees. We sat in the shade. I had lasagne. It looked like a simple, large, round omelette. Simplicity itself. It was gorgeous. So...

Polo comes of age for all generations 

THEY are calling Volkswagen's sixth generation Polo a 'baby Golf' with some justification.

Sampling another world at the wheel of luxurious Lexus LC500 coupe for road trip with a difference 

SOMETIMES a drive is about more than the car or its performance. I think that was the case with the new Lexus LC luxury coupe.

The Mini is still a marvel 

Some 58 years ago when living with my family in the village of Waltham St Lawrence, about 30 miles west of London, we were acquainted with the Carews , who seemed to be scions of the nobility of the area.

Joint first honours for Kia and Volvo in vehicle reliability study, with BMW left miles behind 

Reliability studies are a great way of helping you make up your mind about what car to buy, either new or secondhand. The latest J.D. Power...

Ibiza hatch mirrors the big step from cheap to chic 

God forgive me but I don't like pointed wing mirrors. They remind me of Japanese imports from the early nineties. Not a good start for me then when I sat in the new SEAT Ibiza was it? There,...

How different makes of car rate in the NCT - and the model that performs the worst every year 

At last there is a very quick way to see how your car rates in the NCT. Irish tech firm Idiro Analytics has completed an analysis of the 2016 NCT...

Why there's just enough 'OMG!' with this AMG Merc 

I think lots of us pretend we'd love to drive big, powerful, fast cars because it is the 'thing' to do. I confess I sometimes worry so much about scratching/damaging them, breaking speed...

Fine estate of affairs gets this BMW Touring off hook 

I know I am being ridiculously petty by picking, initially, on a tiny aspect of this week's car but I feel I'm entitled to have a bit of a rant now and then. Just to clear the head sort of thing.

All-new Swift to fly high 

There's a lot of noise out there for people looking at changing their car, especially if they are thinking of buying new.

Jag yourself a bargain 

You no longer need to splash your cash on the top-of-the-range 5.0 litre V8 or 3.0 litre V6 Jaguar F-Type, as a new greener and, crucially, cheaper turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine has joined the line-up. And while Jag aficionados might baulk at the very idea, a...

Why new Insignia suffers from a pain in the 'but' 

People tell me I'm an awful man for coming up with the 'buts' - just when everything seems to be going grand. So I might as well warn you in advance, there's an unusual 'but' or two coming in the...

Velar's lofty unveiling 

On a rugged and gravelled Norwegian ski slope, a fleet of Range Rover Velars wind their way up more than 1,000 metres to a cable-car station in the clouds. It's a harsh and remote location, with only a few sightseers reaching the summit to cast a curious eye over the new car. Land Rover's...

Our future is like a cup of tea: it's all about how we make it 

The cousin, bless him, put on the kettle, as he always does. I 'put on' the car, as I seldom do. The cousin has plugged in the kettle for as long as I've known him and his warm welcomes. I've only...

The driverless cul-de-sac 

The motor industry is driving into a cul-de-sac as major manufacturers leapfrog each other with technology that is leading to automated driving (AD).

Why it pays to get 'street wise' with new Opel Crossland X 

I'm always telling people to take their time when buying a car. You'd be surprised how impetuous they get as soon as they've made up their mind to buy. They want it 'Now' and take so much at...

Micra: a nice car no more 

The first car I advised my partner to buy was the Nissan Micra, a good dozen years or so ago. It never let us or her down and even took over the Christmas duties from a big BMW saloon which I had on test some years ago. The rear-wheel drive Beemer was useless in the snow, while the little...

Prius plug-in: why it's your call on electric future cost 

I often strike up a conversation with whoever is beside me on a flight or while we're waiting for one. Most people love a bit of company. You'd be surprised how many are uneasy with flying and...

Kodiaq is fit for all the family 

A multitude of companies, and not only those involved in the automotive business, could learn a thing or two from Skoda's growth strategy over the years.

Food for thought with Audi's sweet Q2 baby petrol SUV 

You simply cannot win these days. Just when you think you are doing the right thing, someone tells you 'new research' has found something wrong with it. Food/diets are especially susceptible to the...

How I fared with Mazda's new SUV, the CX-5 

Getting to know a car is a bit like going on a first date (I'm speaking from a long way back, so let me know if I'm missing something here). You quickly pick up first impressions. You like, don't like,...

Why the Golf GTi has not been on my 'top-cars' list 

I'm frequently asked to name the best car(s) I've driven this year, the last 12 months, ever. It is one of the hardest things to do; it is so budget dependent and utterly subjective. And there are...

Engulfed with real smugness 

Sometimes there is such smugness about a Volkswagen Golf that it could incite you to violence.

Lifting the bonnet on the VW emissions scandal 

It's less than 21 months since the news surfaced that one of the most trusted and popular car brands ever had deliberately misled millions of their customers. Faster, Higher, Farther: The Inside...

Living in the 'Now' with Audi's new A5 Cabriolet 

The man in the Land Rover Discovery jokingly shouted 'swap?' at me as we waited for heavy Bray traffic to move in either direction. It was 25 degrees, I had the hood down and this old face...

Nifty little city car boasts sporty off-roader looks 

Awwww! You know that noise you make when you watch a silly video of a dandelion-fluff kitten fighting with a ball of wool?

Go ahead girl, Merc my day! 

I think my days of driving coupes are coming to an end. That's especially so as Sam's arthritis begins to outpace my flexibility and even with ramp, towels, pillows and lots of bridge-building between seats, it's difficult to get him into the back of low-slung, two-door cars.

Taking Scenic route: there is some life in the MPV yet 

It was hard not to take the sentimental Scenic route with this week's car. There was a strong temptation to let nostalgia tint the view, to think back to how things were 21 years when the...

Ten things you might want to know about Volkswagen’s new Polo 

VOLKSWAGEN has just unveiled its new Polo supermini in Berlin. The new car, popular with Irish buyers, is due to go on sale here on November 17.

Six steps that separate the new Nissan Micra from old 

They say each of us is only six or fewer contacts from knowing everyone else in the world. The 'Six degrees of Separation' theory says we're a maximum of half-a-dozen "friend-of-a-friend" steps from...

Honda Civic: 'A sleek and sporty family car that's big on style, safety, and price' 

The conversation in the office caught me a bit off balance. "Ah, you were spotted in that smart boy-racer of yours last Sunday," a friendly colleague...

What E-Class Coupé did for my 'great expectations' 

Early in his excellent bestseller on the history of mankind, Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari makes an observation that chimes so forcibly with this week's review car that I just felt I had to...

Small way to hedge the future 

Even as the article last week about the rate of change in the car industry was being published, the pace picked up. Ford sacked its global chief executive after fewer than three years in the job to replace him with a recent entry to the industry as the company races to keep pace with the...

Let Renault's Zoe guide you to electric future as petrol dries up 

Sometimes, even the best ideas take time to catch on. Remember when CDs were considered just a fad, dial-up internet was fast and who needed Google when we had Yahoo? Similarly, the...