Hybrid
Self-charging hybrid reviews. What they are like to drive and how they really work to save fuel in Ireland’s traffic.
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Ford Puma, Now Also Powered By Electricity
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. The Ford Puma in its present guise is a familiar sight on Irish roads. But only the eagle eyed amongst you will notice that this “new” Ford Puma is different. Its an EV and its called the Ford Puma Gen-E. The mild hybrid petrol is of course still available but…
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Nissan’s e-Power Qashqai Is Really Very Impressive!
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Nissan have refreshed the Qashqai and made an excellent car even better! I road test some 60 new cars a year from every segment of the market. So you can imagine I am not easily impressed. However occasionally a car comes along that really gets my attention. Something different, something…
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Renault’s Popular Captur Gets A Big Refresh.
Road Tested By Hugh Maguire. First launched back in 2013 the Captur has proven to be a wining model for Renault with well over 2 million units sold. The Captur is built on the same floorpan as the Clio so it is not a large car but the SUV styling and practicality have given it…
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New Peugeot 208 Mild Hybrid Proves Small Can Be Big On Appeal!
Road Tested By Hugh Maguire The new Peugeot 208 is available with a choice of three trims –Active, Allure and GT-Line. There are some lovely new colours available one of which is the Agueda Yellow metallic of my test car! The Peugeot 208 has always been a popular model for the brand and this latest…
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Peugeot’s New 5008 Is Impressive and Available As hybrid or EV.
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. It is interesting how manufacturers are leaning towards hybrid and not solely EV’s in their latest models. No doubt due to the rapid slowdown in EV uptake for reasons I have discussed here many times. So this week its a quick intro via the Irish Press launch of the all…
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New Mazda CX-80 Is A Delightful Revelation!
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Mazda were already represented within the luxury SUV segment by their CX-60 but the CX-80 while looking similar and sharing most components differs in that its 250mm longer and boosts a full seven seats or in Homura specification a six seat layout with individual chairs. There are five trim levels…
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BYD Offers New Plug In Hybrid SUV That Will Worry The Competition.
Road tested By Hugh Maguire. This is BYD’s first SUV and I have to start this review by telling you its rather impressive! BYD are really gaining traction in the Irish market with a winning combination of well built, well specified cars at competitive prices. The European manufacturers are understandably worried as this trend is…
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Suzuki Swift. Everything You Need In A Compact Car!
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. This is Suzuki’s fourth generation of the model. Suzuki claim its a completely new car but it is almost the same size and indeed looks very similar to its predecessor. In fact it is built on the floor pan of the previous model. That said it boasts a new interior,…
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The New Fiat 600 Is A Car That May Bring Irish Motorists Back To The Brand.
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. Fiat have been surviving in this market with really just one model, the funky Fiat 500. Yes it has many incarnations from the sporty Abarth, the standard economical petrol and of course an EV. The slightly larger Fiat 500X really just did not appeal as it seemed like a Fiat…
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Renault Wants A Slice Of The Premium Segment With New Rafale.
Road Tested By Hugh Maguire. So What is the new Renault Rafale E tech hybrid you may ask? Basically it is a 5 door coupe SUV with clever self charging hybrid technology and underpinnings developed in part by their sports car division Alpine. The name Rafale was originally used on a Caudron-Renault Rafale aircraft which…