IRISHCARTRAVEL +
Tweaks to Jaguars at New York Show
Express Edition April 21 2011
TAKING YOU PLACES WITH THE BEST WRITERS
Mini SD on sale here
The Mini Cooper SD has gone on sale in Ireland at a starting price of €26,510 OTR. The 2.0 diesel power unit outputs 143hp and pulls 302Nm of torque. The engine is available across the full range of Mini models. A 0-100kms sprint of 8.1 seconds is achievable with the Hatch version, and with CO2 emissions of 114g/km, it sits easily in Ireland’s lowest tax band. The exterior style cues and specification sets are the same as the petrol powered Mini Cooper SD. The engine is based on the one in the BMW 118d. A new 2.2 diesel engine for the Jaguar XF is one of a range of improvements to the Jaguar range that have been launched at the New York Auto Show, writes Brian Byrne. The 190hp power unit provides an 8.5 seconds 0-100km/h performance, and brings the entry level version to a Band C in Irish tax terms.
There are also new exterior design changes, based on some of the cues used in the newer XJ. These include new front lights and LED DRLs, and there’s also a lower bonnet line with a ‘power bulge’ running the length of the middle. Tail lamp units have also been redesigned, and inside there’s refreshed trim and fittings. Further details have
Audi woos Chinese with A3 e-tron Concept
Audi has revealed an A3 e-tron concept at Shanghai Auto Show which is a plug-in hybrid with 238hp punching out of its power train writes Brian Byrne. A 1.4 TSI petrol engine is the primary power source, with an electric motor which as well as helping the car achieve a 6.8 seconds sprint to 100km/h will also allow the car to travel on electric power alone for up to
been changed on the XFR highend version. The XK range has also been upgraded, using details shown on the XKR-S shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March. These include headlight style changes. At the rear it gets the Jaguar ‘Leaper’ badge as was introduced with the first XF.
Mazda brand campaign Mazda has launched its first ever brand campaign in Ireland. The new campaign features a series of stories which aim to create greater familiarity with the Mazda brand — its heritage, character and products — among Irish consumers. Eight videos have been made to tell a number of real stories about how Mazda has borrowed from Japanese history and culture to enable it to think differently in their approach to excellence and to ‘defy convention’.
Avensis. Strength of Character.
50kms. Extensive use of aluminium, and a number of power-saving technologies combine to provide what Audi describes as ‘very high’ efficiency. The concept is built as a saloon, reflecting the importance of that format in the Chinese Market, reckoned to grow to as much as 30 million units a year.
Rabbitte revs up EV vehicles rebate Environment Minister Pat Rabbitte has signed the Electric Vehicle grant scheme. This ends a limbo situation where it wasn’t possible to sell or register electric cars unless the owners were willing to forego the grant. The scheme had been announced by the previous Fianna Fail/Greens Government, but hadn’t been signed off by them. In the scheme, all vehicles with CO2 emissions of less
than 75g/km CO2 emissions will be eligible for a purchase subsidy of up to €5,000. Qualifying vehicles sold after 1 January 2011 are eligible for the grant, and a total of €5m has been allocated for this purpose. The aim is to have 10 percent of vehicles (approximately 220,000) powered or part powered by electricity from the grid by 2020.
Call 1850 200 724 for a brochure or to arrange a test drive.
www.toyota.ie The Avensis comes with a 3-year or 100,000km parts and labour warranty and 3 years Toyota Eurocare emergency roadside assistance. Avensis from €24,165 (Delivery and related charges not included). Model shown is for illustrative purposes only. Front foglights and alloy wheels not standard on Terra model. *€156 road tax applies to 2.0L diesel model. Toyota Optimal Drive delivers up to 20% more power, 24% less fuel consumption and 24% fewer CO2 emissions than the engine it replaces depending on the powertrain. Fuel Consumption 1.6 Valvematic L/100km Urban - 8.3, Extra-Urban - 5.4, Combined - 6.5. Fuel emissions Co2/km - 152. Toyota Ireland is a 100% Irish owned company.
Citroen’s DS5 rolls out in Shanghai
This is Citroen’s DS5, the latest in its premium level range, writes Brian Byrne. It was revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show, reflecting the importance of that country’s growing car market. It is the first Citroen to feature the HYbrid4 powertrain, with its diesel core engine, offering 200hp with CO2 emissions of just 99g/km. The car completes the initial DS range, begun with the DS3 based on the C3 supermini, and continued with the DS4 based on the C4
No Grandeur like Hyundai’s new Azera
We don’t have it here, but this is Hyundai’s new generation Azera, writes Trish Whelan, a model known as Grandeur in Europe in its previous incarnations. This one is particularly aimed at China for now, and was revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show. It comes with 2.4 and 3.0 petrol engines of 180/250hp output.
+\XQGDL 0LOHDJH $XWR,UHODQG $ LQGG
Spare wheels and the CO2 conundrum Have you tried to change your wheel lately? writes Brian Byrne. And maybe found that you didn’t have a spare? Just an aerosol can of gunk, perhaps. This getting increasingly likely, especially with small and compact cars. Blame it on the CO2. And the odds are that it’s all going to cost you a lot more money than a puncture used to. But first, let’s look at the reasons that the whole business of spare tyres has changed. Why the car industry has been trying to eliminate them as much as possible. The average weight of a wheel and tyre comes to around 16kg. That would represent about 1.2 percent of the total mass of a compact family hatchback, for instance. And another couple of kilos need to be allowed for the jack and wheel brace. Trimming the weight of the spare wheel, or losing it altogether can be done in a number of ways. The most common has been to provide
an emergency spare, popularly known as a ‘skinny’. Another, confined to expensive prestige cars mostly, is to use ‘run-flats’. The third, increasingly seen, is to replace the spare with a sealant kit, or a more sophisticated sealant/inflation system with a small compressor operated from the car’s electrical circuit. Each of these have their own mass which needs to be deducted from the standard spare weight, to work out actual savings. A simple aerosol sealant might be 0.3kg, a ContiComfortKit electric sealant/ inflator system weighs 2.5kg. Run-flat tyres can be up to 3kg heavier than standard, but the total of 12kg is typically an appreciable weight saving over an extra large wheel and tyre in a prestige car. The weight of a ‘skinny’, meanwhile, is about half that of a real spare wheel, say 8kg. So, depending on which alternative is used, the weight saved can range between 8kg15.7kg. In general, the boffins say that one percent of a car’s weight saved equates to a 0.8 percent CO2 reduction. In our compact hatch, that would roughly equate to around 1g/km saved with the total elimination of a spare wheel by a basic aerosol sealant, or about half that through the use of a ‘skinny’. It might not seem much of a saving but there are many instances where even 1g/km can bring a car into a better tax band. Along with other areas of fuel-saving, such as using low rolling resistance tyres and shaving weight elsewhere, the spare wheel’s contribution can help towards a significant result in lowering emissions. All well and good for the environment. Even helps keep the price of the car, and the road tax, lower in Ireland. But there’s a rub. There always is. Something like the ‘no free lunch’ rule. For instance, the gunk. It’s supposed to be OK to reuse the tyre afterwards, but many repair shops won’t want the work of cleaning it out before they can
make the repair. Especially if it is from a semi-generic sealant-kit provider. So you have a fifty-fifty chance of getting stuck for a new cover. If you have a skinny, it’s designed to be used for no more than 80kms at a low speed. You really shouldn’t depend on it for a second time around if you’ve gone that far. New skinny. As for the runflats, you definitely do have to replace one that has been used uninflated. And they don’t come cheap, given that they are more complex to make. But it’s all for the climate, and minding mother Earth. Against that background, would we really want to pay only €9 for a traditional puncture repair? Well, actually, we should want to. And we should be making noise that we want to. Because it’s not just the hundreds of euros we can have to pay to replace a punctured tyre in these circumstances. It’s the CO2 ‘tyreprint’ of making that tyre, and perhaps the environmental costs of disposing of the punctured one, which in normal circumstances may have had many thousands of kilometres of life left in it. The production of a tyre ‘costs’ about 90kgs of CO2 including the carbon in the materials, and the energy used in manufacture. Actually, end of life carbon costs are generally taken as closer to neutral because tyres can displace fossil fuels in some applications, and materials such as concrete in roads. But in round figures, to make the difference of that notional 1gm/km saving on our compact hatch by eliminating the full spare wheel, we would need to drive it 90,000 kilometres, if my maths is right. Plus, of course, the carbon element in the manufacture of the wheel itself. And that figure is all blown to heck if you get just one puncture and have to buy another 90kgs of CO2. Maybe we really need to take a longer view than saving a couple of grammes of emissions at one end of the homologation of a car?
‘That figure is all blown to heck if you get just one puncture and have to buy another 90kgs of CO2’
Three new Jeeps will rejig the brand offer in Europe I think there’s a place for every car, but that place is not necessarily in my driveway, writes Brian Byrne. However, I’ve just been mucking around in one that could fit there very nicely. The Jeep Compass. Ah, come on... you say? Yeah, really. From a model that didn’t seem to be at all a proper part of the Jeep gene pool, it has been made to fit a little better. Compass in a substantially revised guise will be one of the three pillars of the brand’s new European challenge now that it is in partnership with Fiat. The others are Wrangler, and the brand new Grand Cherokee. It’s an ambitious challenge. The brand wants to upshift from 15,000 units in Europe last year to around 125,000 by 2014. I’m not sure that’s achievable even if the good times roll up again sooner than anyone believes. Anyhow, as the man said when asked his age, ‘it’s just a number’. The interesting thing is that the new thrust dispenses with the Cherokee, one of the Jeep icons. Possibly because it is too close in size to the Compass, although arguably more competent than the junior Jeep. Besides, they say, things have changed on the European SUV scene. Economy and emissions are the godheads. And reflecting that, four out of every ten compact SUVs in Europe are 2WD. There isn’t a 2WD option for the Cherokee, so it can’t be a fit. Compass is targeted directly at Ford’s Kuga, Toyota’s RAV4 and Volkswagen’s Tiguan. With some of the changes made in this incarnation, it is a valid contender. If the pricing is as aggressive as hinted so far, it could be a serious one.
To be fair, there’s little point in trying to work it out in just an Irish context. We’re a tiny part of a European Market that is hoped to reach 16.2 million passenger car sales in 2014. Analysts reckon that 1.2m will be SUVs across the segment. Jeep are targeting a 10 percent share. The Fiat marketing might across the Union will be a substantial help. As also will the diesel engines in the three vehicles which have been provided for Europe only. The Compass will come in Ireland with a new 2.0 petrol unit, but the real interest will be in the 2.2 diesel, which comes straight from Mercedes-Benz. There will be two power versions of the diesel, a 136hp unit for the 2WD car and a 163hp one for the 4WD. At the time of
writing that engine starts as a D rated unit for CO2 tax reasons, but we’re assured that by the time it comes in summer the engineers will have tweaked it down to a C rating. Pricing could start in the low €20,000s. The Grand Cherokee comes with a new 3.0 V6 diesel from VM Motori, now owned 50 percent by Fiat and benefiting from the use of Fiat’s JTD technology. It has more power, and provides a 19 percent better fuel consumption and 20 percent less CO2 than the previous powertrain. Prices are expected to start in the mid-€40,000s.
The 2.8 diesel in the Wrangler gives 200hp and emissions have dropped substantially to 187g/km for the 2-door and 197g/km for the 4-door. Pricing is expected to be somewhere in the mid €30,000s. A quick day last week at Fiat’s automotive proving ground at Balocco near Milan last week was something of an eye-opener in how what was a range of cars with disappointing American characteristics in fit and finish have been so significantly upgraded to suit European tastes. A decent off-road test track provided a good sense of each vehicle’s capabilities in the rough for which the Jeep brand depends on for its ethos. The Wrangler is a go-anywhere car, the Grand Cherokee not much, if any less capable. The Compass is essentially what we’d call a ‘soft-roader’, though I gather there will be a ‘Trail-Rated’ version coming along with substantially more capability. The road manners of the Compass and Grand Cherokee were very good, and though tyre noise on the bigger car was probably related to the kind of covers used, it was a very refined driving experience. Bottom line, much to look forward to when we get the cars in Ireland. It’s a new beginning for the brand here, and it may well be that it will get a seriously better reception than it has over past years.
www.volkswagen.ie
WE HAD THE IDEA OF CREATING THE WORLD’S MOST EFFICIENT ENGINES.
More than one idea ahead. The new Passat. From e24,865. The new Passat is packed with innovations to help you drive efficiently and safely, delivering best in class fuel consumption of just 4.3 l/100km. Its BlueMotion Technologies Start/Stop System saves you money on fuel and its Fatigue Detection System helps you stay alert. Finally, all diesel engines qualify for Tax band A, €104 road tax - another one of the many reasons why the new Passat is so popular.
For more information visit www.volkswagen.ie or test drive today at your local authorised Volkswagen Dealer.
Das Auto. Model shown is for illustrative purposes only. Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI 105 BHP. CO2 Emissions (g/km) - 114. Combined Fuel Consumption (l/100km) 4.3. Annual road tax €104. Price excludes delivery & related charges.
The Nissan Leaf has been named 2011 World Car of the Year, edging out the BMW 5Series and the Audi A8 for the top spot. Today’s award is the latest in a string of accolades for the massmarket, all-electric vehicle, which was also named European Car of the Year 2011. Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said the accolade recognises the pioneer in zeroemission mobility as comparable in its driving performance, quietness and superb handling to petrol-powered cars. “And it validates Nissan’s clear vision and the values of sustainable mobility that we want to offer to customers around the world,” he said. The World Car Awards jurors called the Leaf ‘the gateway to a brave new electric world’ from Nissan. “The good news? It feels just like a normal car, only quieter.” The competition was launched in 2004, with winners chosen by a panel of automotive journalists from Asia, Europe and North America. The Irish juror is Padraic Deane from Roscommon, a leading Irish motoring journalist and publisher. Aiming to be the world leader in zero-emission vehicles, Nissan, with its Alliance partner, Renault, has formed partnerships with more than 90 governments, cities and other organizations around the world not only to develop and produce EV and lithium-ion batteries but also to promote sustainable mobility.
Nissan Leaf is World Car of the Year 2011
Celebrating 60 years of Unimog
The new BMW X3
www.bmw.ie
The Ultimate Driving Machine
One of the most iconic vehicles in the history of motoring, the Mercedes-Benz Unimog, is 60 years old this year, writes Trish Whelan. The big guy was designed for agricultural use and is remarkable for its ability to function in the most challenging and adverse conditions. Unimog is noticeable here in Ireland for its work on the ESB Networks fleet, its permanent 4WD, power delivery systems, high ground clearance and its rugged, off-road capabilities which have made it the vehicle of choice amongst defence forces, local authorities, fire fighters, and utility companies. Often used as snowploughs, municipal equipment carriers and in construction and agricultural environments, the Unimog is at home in conditions as diverse as jungles, mountains and deserts, on expeditions to remote places and as back-up vehicles in challenging events such as the Paris-Dakar Rally. In June, its birthday will be celebrated at a special ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Worth where the world’s largest gathering of classic and current Unimogs will be assembled for the occasion.
Joy is having it all. thE nEW BMW X3.
The eagerly anticipated new BMW X3 has arrived. With more power, increased loadspace, better fuel consumption and innovative equipment options, it continues to be the benchmark for the class. It’s generously equipped with Nevada leather upholstery, two-zone air conditioning, iDrive controller and colour display as standard. And despite its power and dynamic prowess, it only attracts VRT band ‘C’ thanks to its frugal fuel economy, and low CO2 emissions. For more information on the new BMW X3, and to pre-book an unforgettable test-drive, visit www.bmw.ie
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Irish Car+Travel is published by WhelanByrneAssociates, Kilcullen, Co Kildare, Ireland. It incorporates Irish Car and Irish 4x4 & Offroad. All content strictly copyright the publishers and original contributors. Every care is taken in ensuring that information herein is correct, but the publishers take no responsibility for errors or other matters arising therefrom. Managing Editor: Brian Byrne. Publications Editor: Trish Whelan. Phone: +353 45 481090 +353 86 8267104. Email: irishcar@gmail.com 09/12/2010 10:31