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We've got hold of a Volkswagen Golf for a few months to live with it every day. In some ways it's a more realistic test of a car than our usual week-long loans. Paddy will be the 'owner' of the car most of the time, but I'll be getting behind the wheel regularly too to give a second opinion.
Our car is the BlueMotion model, which is the most fuel efficient Golf available. It's not difficult to spot some of the modifications made in the name of efficiency. It sits lower for a start…
Before we start this comparison, let's be clear about one thing: very few buyers are interested in high-end SUVs in Ireland right now. The numbers say it all: in 2007, 5,079 premium SUVs were sold here, featuring 624 Land Cruisers and 261 Touaregs. Last year (2010), the sobering figures say 638, 39 and 3 respectively.
Now that's been said, how do the relatively new Land Cruiser and Touareg stack up against each other?
We don't think the price will be the deciding factor here, though the 3.0 TDI Touareg is a few grand…
We got the new Ford Focus together with its arch rival, the Volkswagen Golf for a brief twin test. In summary, the Focus is more daring in terms of styling inside and out and it's marginally better to drive. That latter point really depends on what version you're looking at though, as the Zetec models feature sportier suspension settings than the rest of the line-up.
The Focus' interior has moved on a lot in terms of quality, though it's a little overstyled in my opinion. The Golf's is simpler and some might say boring,…
While enthusiasts' desires are tempered a bit right now by economic reality, there are still some fabulous performance cars on the market. Irish buyers tend to veer toward hot hatches, as they're relatively affordable and practical despite giant-slaying performance. Once upon a time all hot hatches were comparable, but now there's a range of options, from the likes of the warm (but still great) Suzuki Swift Sport to the bonkers stuff like Ford's Focus RS and the new Audi RS 3.
Then there's the Volkswagen Golf R. It doesn't immediately stand out, despite the…
I had the lovely new Audi A6 on test last week. Cracking car. It was the 2.0 TDI model, which will undoubtedly be the biggest seller here and it's a decent alternative to the BMW 520d.
Anyway, I drove it to Ennis to the in-laws and got their point of view. Their opinions matter for several reasons (not just because I have to be nice to them...). First up, my brother-in-law drives the previous generation Audi A6 (see below in the background).
Naturally he loved the new car. A few things he noticed in…
When advising buyers what car to go for, one of the first things we ask them is how they'll use it. While Irish drivers are obsessed with diesel power at the moment, petrol cars can make sense depending on your circumstances, especially if you're going for a small car and you don't plan on astronomical annual mileages. Likewise, petrol-electric hybrids are suited more to a city life than one in which you pound the motorways.
So, where does our Golf BlueMotion fit in? Well, in truth, it's driven in and around Dublin city the…
Alright, I admit that winter tyres may not have been necessary as yet, though I did feel vilified in having them fitted to our long term test Golf when the temperature plummeted to zero in the middle of December. Then it decided to come back up to a balmier 14 degrees around Christmas Day...
Still, it's only the first week of January and many are predicting cold weather and snow for later this month.
However, I'm not as ready as I was, as one of the tyres suffered a puncture before the holidays. Annoyingly,…
We regularly bang on about winter tyres and their merits so we've put our money where our mouths are this year and fitted a set of Bridgestone winter rubber to all four wheels of the CompleteCar.ie Golf BlueMotion. It gave us an excuse to have the car cleaned again too. It's so easy to take one of the few permanent cars in the household for granted when there are so many shiny new models passing through our hands.
Have to admit that the clean has really brought up the paintwork and though the Golf…
There's no doubt that, if fuel economy is your top priority and you're a high-mileage driver, then the BlueMotion version of the Golf is the car for you. The official combined consumption figure is 3.8 litres/100km (74.3mpg) and it gets pretty close to that. We're consistently amazed by its ability to avoid fill-ups, even when confined to the environs of Dublin. On the motorway it's peerless.
Though it's not quite peerless, as Volkswagen offers the same 1.6-litre TDI engine in the rest of the Golf range. Sure, you do without a list of further…
In case you didn't notice, our news pages have been dominated with stories from Auto Shanghai and the New York Auto Show this week.
The latter only really kicks off today so there'll be more to read later, but before that, here's the list of interesting unveils in China:
Acura/Honda
One of the most talked about cars of the show was the Acura NSX concept. Acura is Honda's North American luxury/sports division and so it got to show off the new car on its stand. Fear not, it'll be sold as the Honda NSX when it eventually reaches the showroom - by 2014 we reckon. Looks like it'll have about 400hp from its hybrid powertrain and four-wheel drive. The Acura RDX SUV and ILX saloon also on the stand were all but ignored.
The Cobo Center opens its doors wide to the media on January 9 for the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Here's a preview:
Acura
Honda's luxury US division will use the North American International Auto Show to debut a new ILX concept saloon. The Honda Civic-based four-door saloon will be available with either a 2.0- or 2.4-litre four pot or the Civic Hybrid's powertrain (in America only).
A near-production ready second-generation RDX crossover will also be displayed that noticeably, in an automotive world dominated by downsizing, will swap the turbocharged four-cylinder engine of old for a more fuel efficient V6.
The…