Petrol
Petrol engines are here for many years yet! We review today’s ever better ever cleaner more efficient petrol powered cars.
-
Land Rover Defender Trophy Review: Can A Plug-In-Hybrid Still Be A True Defender?
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Price: Defender Trophy €130,300 Pros: Almost unbeatable off-road ability Feels Special and distinctive Clever tech. Cons: Not so frugal if you can’t plug-in consistently. Quite a small battery only range. Small loss of boot space due battery. The name Land Rover Defender refers to one of the most iconic off-road vehicles…
-
Ford Ranger Wildtrak Review: More than just a workhorse?
Road Tested By Hugh Maguire. Price: €64,800 inc VAT. Pros: Strong performance with instant torque. High tech practical driver assist systems such as Pro Trailer Backup. Plug-in- efficiency with some EV driving capability. Cons: Slightly less payload than rivals from VW, Toyota and Isuzu. Hybrid system adds 300kg or so to its weight. More expensive than…
-
The Seat Arona FR Caught Me By Surprise!
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. Price as tested €36,146. Pros: A rewarding and involving driving experience. Practical inside. Quick shifting DSG gearbox. Cons: Rear seat space not as good as some rivals. Ride can feel overly firm on some road surfaces. Road noise on coarse tarmac. Seat as most will know is part of the Volkswagen…
-
Ineos Automotive upgrade the rugged Grenadier and announce the launch of the Grenadier Black Edition.
We drove the latest version of the Grenadier at the Irish press launch and came away suitably impressed. It is truly a go anywhere 4X4 but has enough creature comforts and refinement so that it makes a very good “on road” method of transport too. As it enters its third full year of production, INEOS Automotive has significantly enhanced its award-winning…
-
Plug-In Perfection? We test the Range Rover Sport PHEV.
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. Land Rover are of course past masters at making 4×4 vehicles. However where the Range Rover is concerned lets face it the furthest off road most of them will go is a pavement in Dublin 4. Yet the desirability factor is high and though most owners frankly would be amazed…
-
Does the word hybrid sit right with the iconic Porsche 911?
We test the new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS t-hybrid to find out. Road tested by Hugh Maguire. There is probably no other sports car that carries the burden of being one of the most recognisable, most respected, most iconic of names, that is the 911. I really would not like to be on the…
-
Is a self charging hybrid the real solution? Peugeot’s 408 may give us the answer.
Road Tested by Hugh Maguire. It is interesting that more and more of the cars I am road testing recently are petrol powered ICE (internal combustion engine) mild hybrids. Why? Because as we all know the EV market has not grown at the rate that was expected. Buyers have become cautious about EV’s for a…
-
Does Opel’s New Grandland Better Its Mainstream Rivals?
Road tested By Hugh Maguire. This is the second generation of the Opel Grandland and it is available in petrol mild hybrid as on test here and also as an EV. There are three trim levels namely SC, Elegance and GS and a choice of six colours. The Grandland was never known for being the…
-
Is A Competitive Price Enough To Win Buyers To The New Citroen C3?
Road Tested By Hugh Maguire. The supermini class is a competitive one. Citroen’s new C3 is up against some pretty good rivals such as the Renault Clio, Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift and Mazda 2 to name a few. Often known for producing some rather quirky and as a result divisive cars has the new C3…
-
MG ZS Hybrid, Does Everything Well And nothing Badly.
Road tested by Hugh Maguire. MG keep producing pretty good cars that buyers like. They are generally competitively priced, offer a reasonable amount of standard kit and come with decent 7-year warranties. So it is with their latest self charging hybrid the MG ZS. Before we continue I must say I believe the way forward…