Car Reviews
Independent car reviews on Irish roads. Practical verdicts on value and real world economy to help you choose your next new car.
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Opel Frontera Twin Test: Seven-Seat Hybrid Or Five-Seat EV?
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Pros: Both offer a practical & versatile body-style particularly in 7- seat guise. Hybrid is very economical. Decent level of standard equipment in both. Cons: Some lower grade plastics let the cabin down. Range in EV version is quite limiting 100kW DC max charging lags behind some rivals in this…
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MG4 Urban Review: Cheap, But Is It Cheerful?
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. Pros: Excellent interior space & huge boot for its class. Very well equipped as standard even in base trim. Reasonable real world range. Cons: Max charging at 87 KW lags behind rivals. Anonymous styling. Touchscreen interface isn’t particularly intuitive. There is already a model called the MG4 so you could…
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Nissan Micra Evolve: Is This The Next Great Electric Supermini?
Road tested By Hugh Maguire. Pros: Distinctive stand out styling. Premium design & feel to interior. Excellent level of standard equipment. Cons: Firm jittery ride over poor road surfaces. Space in the rear is tight for adults. Max of 110 DC charging lags behind some rivals. Renault and Nissan have a strategic alliance which means…
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Renault 4 e-tech Iconic review : Is this Ireland’s best value EV?
Road tested By Hugh Maguire. Pros: Very practical + versatile. Class leading interior design. Great tech including built-in Google. Cons: Max of 100 kW DC charging lags behind rivals. Rear seat space is tight for adults. Tyre roar on coarse tarmac. The original Renault 4 first saw the light of day way back in 1961. It…
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Nissan Ariya NISMO: Raised expectations, but is the NISMO badge justified?
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Price : €68,495. Pros: Strong Performance. Distinctive styling. Excellent AWD traction on wet roads. Cons: Real world range disappoints. Uncompromisingly fidgety ride. Lags behind 800Volt rivals for max charging speed at 130kW. Nissan should be pretty good at designing EV’s after all they were one of the early pioneers when it…
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Lexus RZ 500e: The Electric SUV that takes the fight to BMW and Audi.
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Price €80,500. Pros: Truly luxurious & high tech. Looks and feels top class. Terrific performance & traction. Cons: Range lags behind its rivals. It is quite pricey. Charging speed lags some premium rivals. At this price point the Lexus RZ 500e falls into a very competitive segment of the the premium…
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Kia K4 MHEV: Has Kia Built The Perfect Family Hatchback for Ireland?
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Price: €38,500. K4 GT Line Auto. Pros: Very well equipped at this price point. Roomy well laid out interior. Styling is attractive. Cons: Sport mode not really “sporty” at all. Not as economical as some rivals. Quite a bit of tyre roar on coarse surface roads. I have noticed a very interesting…
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Citroen C3 Aircross Hybrid vs EV: We drove both-Here’s Which One To Buy?
Road Tested By Hugh Maguire. Price: C3 Aircross hybrid 5-seat €29,390 e-C3 Aircross EV 5-seat €28,452 after grants. Cons: Some cheap plastic trim on the doors and centre console. Tyre roar on course tarmac. Basic graphics on…
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Volvo ES90. A New Benchmark For Electric Luxury?
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. Price: €102,595 Pros: Supremely Comfortable. A high quality premium interior. Excellent levels of standard equipment. Cons: Not an involving driving experience. EV efficiency not as good as some rivals. The price! The new ES90 is Volvos’s answer to premium EV’s such as the BMW i5, Audi e-tron, or Mercedes EQE to name…
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Jeep Avenger 4xe: Great Idea But Is It Worth It?
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Price: Avenger 4xe from €39,995 Pros: Actually quite capable off-road. Flexible practical interior. Reasonable amount of standard equipment. Cons: Not as economical as I expected. Cramped in the rear seats. Smaller boot than FWD models. Quite a lot of cheap looking hard plastics inside. The Jeep brand is famous for…