Irish Car Of The Year Awards

OVERALL WINNER WAS BMW 3 SERIES

THE IRISH VAN OF THE YEAR

BEST SMALL CAR OF THE YEAR

THE VOLVO V40 BEST FAMILY COMPACT CAR

BMW 3 Series Ford Transit 

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Telsa Model S A Brilliant Innovation

THE TELSA MODEL S


Introducing a car so advanced it sets  new standard for premium performance.
At the heart of the vehicle is the proven Tesla powertrain,delivering both
unprecedented range and a thrilling drive experience.

With a rigid body structure, nearly 50/50 weight distribution and a remarkably
low center of gravity, Model S offers the responsiveness and agility expected
from world’s best sports cars while providing the ride quality of a saloon.

THE 21ST CENTURY POWERTRAIN

Tesla’s advanced electric powertrain delivers exhilarating performance. Unlike the
internal combustion engine with hundreds of moving pieces that spark, pump, belch,
and groan, the Tesla motor has only one moving piece: the rotor. As a result,
Model S acceleration is instantaneous, like flipping a switch. Hit the accelerator.
In 5.6 seconds, Model S is traveling 60 miles per hour, without hesitation and
without a drop of petrol.

MODEL S PERFORMANCE

Model S Performance takes electric performance to the next level. Equipped with
the 85 kilowatt-hour battery and a high performance drive inverter, Model S
Performance accelerates to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds. If driven the same
way as Model S, both cars achieve the same efficiency thanks to the unique
powertrain design. Model S Performance features an interior replete with Alcantara
and carbon fiber accents.

AGILITY AND GRACE

The Model S suspension system was developed for the unique architecture of Model S.
It works in harmony with the rigid and light Tesla platform to provide precision
handling and optimum comfort. Unencumbered by an engine, the lightweight front
suspension optimizes wheel control. The rear multi-link suspension is designed to
seamlessly integrate with the powertrain.

ACTIVE AIR SUSPENSION

Much more than a great ride and handling package, the Active Air Suspension combines
automatic advantages with on-demand features. As Model S accelerates, it lowers the
vehicle for optimized aerodynamics and increased range. Use the touchscreen to raise
or lower Model S when traversing thick snow or pulling into steep driveways.

POWER STEERING

Electronic Power Steering automatically reacts to driving conditions to stay comfortable
and responsive at all speeds. The feedback is so precise, you'll feel constantly
connected to the road.

GO FARTHER

Model S sets the bar for electric driving range. Model S is offered with three battery
options, each delivering unprecedented range. All three batteries are contained within
the same enclosure, integrating with the vehicle in the same way, providing structural,
aerodynamic, and handling advantages. All three batteries use automotive-grade
lithium-ion cells arranged for optimum energy density, thermal management, and safety.

PLUG IN ANYWHERE

Model S comes standard with everything you need to plug into the most common 240-volt
outlet, standard 120-volt wall outlets and public stations. Using a high-amperage
240-volt outlet, Model S can be recharged at the rate of 100 km range per hour. A
fifty-percent charge in thirty minutes can be achieved with a Tesla Supercharger.

Ask Tesla owners how long it takes to charge and they'll say just a few moments. Like
they do with a cell phone, most Tesla owners plug in at night. By morning, their
battery is completely recharged. The touchscreen can be used to create a customized
charging schedule that enables you to charge when electricity rates are lower during
off-peak hours.

ALL GLASS PANORAMIC ROOF

With the All Glass Panoramic Roof, Model S is the only sedan capable of delivering a
convertible-like drive experience every day. It's more than a sunroof: the entire roof
is constructed from lightweight safety glass. With a simple swipe of the Touchscreen,
it opens wider than any other sedan's panoramic roof. On even the hottest days, the
innovative glass keeps the cabin comfortable.

MORE THAN A POWER SOURCE

The battery is a rigid, high-performance structure in its own right. But when married
to the state-of-the-art body structure, Model S achieves even higher torsional rigidity
and a lower center of gravity. The battery itself is designed for safety. Liquid-cooled,
the battery maintains consistent temperaturesto prevent cells from overheating. In the
event of a crash, the battery structure protects cells from impact and automatically
disconnects the power supply. The battery not only protects its contents, but its position
augments the overall strength of the passenger cabin.


NO TAILPIPE.ZERO EMISSIONS.

With no tailpipe to spew harmful emissions, Tesla vehicles liberate their owners from the
petroleum-burning paradigm. They are the only cars to get more efficient from the moment
they're first driven.

Gasoline-powered vehicles and hybrids burn refined petroleum. Tesla vehicles can use
electricity however it is produced, be it from coal, solar, hydro, geothermal, or wind
power. As the grid shifts to increasingly efficient technologies, Tesla owners reap the
efficiency benefits.

Source http://www.teslamotors.com/models/features#/performance

Cars For Sale  Electric Cars  New Cars

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The Mazda 2 features and starting prices

The Mazda 2 starts from €14795 and comes in a 3 door and 5 door hatchback. It features electric windows, power steering, remote central locking, body coloured bumpers, electric mirrors, alarm and  immobiliser, driver and passenger air bags and an impact and distribution absorption system .

It has a 5 speed manual gearbox.


A leader in its segment for acceleration, handling and braking, this sporty compact car is fast, agile and fun to drive. That’s because Mazda  made it lighter than before. Built with strong new materials it’s safer too.

Awarded the maximum five stars in Euro NCAP safety ratings, this compact car was World Car of the Year in 2008. And it’s fuel efficient with CO2 emissions as low as 119 g/km.

If you own one of these cars give us your views below

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So whats the Suzuki Alto got..

It costs from  €11.165 and comes in 6 different colours, silky silver, rose pearl, kashmir blue, bright red, black pearl and azure grey.

Top features on this car are

·      CD Tuner

·      Storage

·      Safety

·      Air Conditioning

·      Large Booth

·      Low Emissions

It also has:

Electric Front Windows
Rear single-folding bench seat
Driver Seat Height Adjustor
12V interior accessory socket
Front sun visors with vanity mirror (driver’s side)
Power steering
Tilt-adjustable steering wheel
Digital clock
Remove fuel lid opener
Low fuel warning lamp
Lights-on and key-in reminder
Driver’s seatbelt warning lamp alarm
Door ajar warning lamp
Front cabin light (3-position)

Transmission Manual and Automatic Warranty Every new Suzuki comes with a 3 year or 100,000 km warranty (whichever comes first)  and a 12 year* anti-perforation warranty as standard. With an owner transferable  warranty on all Suzuki vehicles, you have full peace of mind when it comes to buying  a used Suzuki. There are lots of accessories available for this car ask  your car dealer for more information.

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Ford Focus Review 2012

The Ford Focus was completely redesigned for  2012. Reviewers found  the Focus’ exterior and interior changes impressive, and also taught performance had improved.

The Ford Focus was very popular and well-liked when it debuted in 1999, but over time the competition improved, and the Focus lost its appeal. About a dozen years later, Ford has revamped the Focus from the inside out to take on the competition. The interior was one of the first things to change, now featuring more high tech options.

The 2012 Focus gets MyKey and MyFord, two features that are available on other models.. MyFord integrates entertainment, navigation and communication into a touch screen console. MyKey is a safety feature that restricts vehicle speed and stereo volume while your teen drives. The industry is also excited about the Focus’s standard torque vectoring control – a first for a car in this class. Torque vectoring control increases vehicle stability by adding brake force to wheels on one side during turns, and is a great feature for driving enthusiasts.

The Focus also got a lot of exterior updates, and the industry is very pleased with the changes. The newest Focus looks sportier and more aggressive than older models and falls in line with Ford Fiesta.

Reviewers loved the changes on the new Ford Focus, and think it's a wise pick for any small car buyer. But there are lot of great cars in the class, and test drivers think it's a good idea check the competition first. Other Cars to Consider Among affordable hatchbacks, there’s the Ford Fiesta and the Mazda 3, which are regarded as one of the roomiest and most utilitarian hatches on the market. 

If you’re deciding, the Ford Focus is your best bet if you need one of the best combinations of affordability and utility.

Budget-minded consumers that value performance should test drive the Mazda3, which is also available as a five-door hatchback. The Mazda3 is fun to drive and less expensive than the Focus. This year, the Mazda has new engine with good performance and great fuel economy that everyone will love.

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Audi A3 a top class car

The all new Audi A3 is here to steal the show.  Smart build, excellent engineering and safety features make it one of the best made small cars. However, the 2013 A3 is only available in Europe until early next year. The three new engines that include a more powerful diesel are offered in two styles- two and four door hatchbacks, a saloon and a convertible.

As soon as the car was launched, it received an impressive amount of acclaim from critics and reviewers and the sales have exceeded expectations. It is a less expensive  alternative to a regular luxury car and an extremely fuel-efficient to hybrids.

The German flavour of Audi is intact with engineering excellence and an upscale cabin. The A3 is a satisfying vehicle to drive. The cabin’s designs has set the standard for the industry – all the mechanisms moves with precision, fits tightly and feels top class. In the Audi A3 TDI, the power is directed to the front wheels through a dual clutch transmission that allows either automatic or manual shifting. It utilizes a 2.0litre in line four cylinder diesel engines that produces 140 horsepower and 236 pounds feet/torque. An intercooler and turbo charger helps in cleaner emissions and better accelerations.

The exterior is a masterpiece of tailored sophistication. The body work is beautiful, sleek, stunning and modern. The single frame grille speaks more of the trademark class that Audi emanates. The impact of the grille has been softened by the compound curves in the bonnet. The taillights accentuate the broad expanse of the car. It is an aggressive nose but it does not dominate the designs. Your eyes will automatically draw to the shoulder line.

The overall look is mighty impressive. The leather upholstered interior is a great specimen of fine taste and class- certainly roomy for a four-door hatchback. The front sports seats are tight where they need to be and pleasantly comfortable. The fully adjustable steering column produces an excellent driving position for people of all sizes. The compartment at the bottom of the centre stack has two levels.  The rear seats are also quite comfortable with adequate head and leg room. Fold the split rear seatbacks and there is a 19.5 cubic feet cargo area.
The seats flip down easily for more cargo space- even if you don’t get a flat cargo floor; there is an accessory roof rack available for added cargo. Mileage is good – it could do an impressive 43.7miles /gallon and can accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.7 seconds; the torque is ever ready. When it comes to handling and ride quality, it is again excellent. The good and firm suspension allows quick turns and a highly responsive feel. However you would feel the bumps on the roads and some road noise as well. The climate control, Bose RDS Audi system with AM/FM, six disc remote changer with 10 speakers, and remote control on the leather-covered steering wheel adds to the charm.

If you are an admirer of the class and reliability that the brand Audi exudes, A3 is going to make you more than happy.

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Cost of driving your average family car in Ireland

If you are buying a new car in Ireland what is this car going to cost you per week. I have done a calculation based on an average car costing €22,000 euro over 5 years. I have taken the weekly repayments, cost of insurance, tax, petrol and maintenance into consideration. What we should have at the end is the total cost of driving your average family car.

Ok so lets start

Car costs €22,000

Bought over 5 years with no deposit with 9% interest will cost €104 per week

For this experiment we will put it in tax band C which is equal to €5.81 per week

Lets assume that we drive the yearly average which is 18000 kms per year or 346 kms per week

Lets also assume that it does reasonable mileage per gallon of 70 kms = about 5 gallons per week @ €8.50 per gallon = €42.50 per week.

Now we must add insurance at an average of €520 per year to a driver with a full license and 3 years’ experience working out at €10 per week.

Servicing and Maintenance will probably be around €9.60 per week over the 5 years. This is of course if nothing major goes wrong with car.

104.00 + 5.81 + 42.50 + 10.00 + 9.60 = 171.91

So the total cost per week to drive an average family new car in Ireland is actually a whopping €171.91 per week.

Now lets assume that the average wage of the people who buy these cars is €500 per week take home pay meaning you must be earning in excess of €35,000 per year. This means that is costing more than 33% of your income to have a used car sitting outside your door.

However after 5 years this car still has some value, if its not crashed or damaged it will be worth somewhere in the region of €6000 giving you back €23.73 per week.

So the question we have to ask is how many people can afford to pay 33% of their wages out on a used car for 5 years, after all it becomes a used car the minute its driven out of the dealers forecourt.

All these figures are based on averages, in many cases it will cost more for the average family car as most will be driven up to 30,000 kms per year.

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2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE

If you hadn’t heard, Volkswagen has big plans for the American market: The company wants to roughly triple the number of vehicles it sells in the United States by 2018. To do that, we’re getting a few models tailored specifically to what VW thinks are this country’s tastes, built locally to keep prices in line.
Our featured car, the 2012 Volkswagen Passat SE TDI, is one of those models and marks a major step toward the company’s lofty sales goals. It’s the first car to come out of VW’s new $1 billion manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.; it’s also an entirely new VW Passat sharing little with the European model of the same name.
The result is a bigger Passat than ever before, though the interior isn’t as upscale as it was in the past. Likewise, certain features mid-size sedan customers have become accustomed to — a back-up camera and blind-spot assist, for example, have been left off the list in order to keep prices more in line with the Passat’s competitors.
In place of the missing tech gadgets, Volkswagen offers an option the other players don’t: A diesel engine. The VW TDI “clean diesel” offers smooth, powerful acceleration, a complete absence of any traditional diesel smoke or smell, and up to 40 mpg highway with an automatic transmission.

What’s it like to live with?

First, a disclosure: I own a Volkswagen diesel. Depending upon the fit of your particular tinfoil hat, that makes me either a) a Volkswagen apologist who can’t possibly write an objective review of a related product, or b) a trained reviewer who’s determined that the various pros and cons of said car made it worthy of his own hard-earned money. Hint: It’s B
Whether you’re familiar with Volkswagens or not, the 2012 Passat TDI is an extraordinarily good mid-size sedan. Passengers are greeted with a bright, airy cabin boasting Rolls-Royce levels of rear legroom, along with a massive trunk with pass-through for longer cargo. The driver gets simple, easy-to-understand gauges and controls, along with an intuitive touch-screen radio/infotainment system that can also be equipped with navigation.
On the road, the Passat TDI’s diesel engine pulls smoothly at all speeds, working through a unique dual-clutch automatic transmission Volkswagen calls DSG; mechanical details aside, the DSG transmission helps get the most out of the diesel’s characteristics and the programming is nearly perfect. Only at low speeds can the driver detect any roughness. Steering and brakes thankfully maintain the crispness for which VW vehicles have long been praised, and the ride quality will impress those who’ve previously thought German-engineered vehicles too firm for their tastes.
If you’re hesitant about considering a diesel vehicle, don’t be: Nearly half of U.S. filling stations offer diesel fuel today, so any concerns about not being able to find fuel can be put to rest. Once you’ve located a diesel pump, the refueling experience is exactly like that of a gasoline-powered vehicle. Similarly, the maintenance schedule for a Passat TDI is nearly identical to that of a gasoline Passat, and Volkswagen offers free scheduled maintenance for the first three years or 36,000 miles of ownership. In other words, aside from the variable price differences between unleaded and diesel, about the only unusual thing you’ll notice about owning a VW TDI is how slowly the fuel gauge drops.


Who should consider this vehicle?
Stylish, roomy and delightful to drive, family saloon buyers accustomed to the Toyota Camry/Honda Accord vanilla twins will find the VW Passat TDI a refreshingly different alternative, but without some of the quirks of previous Volkswagen products.
Green-leaning buyers in particular should consider the Passat TDI, along with its smaller Jetta cousin. Modern diesel car engines offer many of the mileage advantages of hybrids without the awkward on/off acceleration and complicated electronic controls. Volkswagen is a leader in clean diesel technology around the world and they’re one of the few manufacturers offering this promising technology to U.S. buyers today.
Worth noting is that Volkswagen is coming off a disappointing decade in terms of quality control. The company appears to have turned the corner and recent independent ratings show VW on par with the rest of the industry, but we’re going to need to see some long-term proof. Our Passat TDI has been trouble-free as of this writing (about 5,000 miles in), but buyers for whom impeccable reliability is key should recognize that VW ownership may not be as seamless as having an Accord or Camry. Barring major mechanical meltdown, we think the tradeoff is worth it.

 What other vehicles should I consider?
Among comparable midsize saloons, the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu are all sized and priced similarly to the Passat. Considering the fuel economy of the diesel model, the field narrows: The Camry Hybrid, Fusion Hybrid and Malibu Eco all offer similar mileage ratings, though the driving experiences of each are quite different.

 BY Andrew Stoy od shopautoweek.com

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