There are plenty of new car introductions for 2015, across all segments of the market, so there will be plenty of choices for those in the market for a new model.
Car prices have remained fairly competitive, while economy levels have improved across the board. New cars are also safer – under EU law they must include features such as stability control systems and tyre pressure monitoring, all good for the safety of motorists and their passengers.
Here we give a brief glimpse of some of the new cars that will be on offer. Some have yet to hit our shores, while others are in compounds waiting for the January 2015 registrations to start.
New Passat
The arrival of the eighth-generation Passat will be the big news at Volkswagen. While the car is available to order now, deliveries won’t start until the middle of January 2015. The new Passat will compete head-to-head with the new Ford Mondeo and those two are likely to battle for the top spot in their segment next year.
Volkswagen claims the new Passat has evolved even further in terms of quality, sitting wider than the model it replaces. It has a longer wheelbase and a larger boot. There is an impressive range of economical diesel engines and Volkswagen expects that 80% of buyers will opt for the 1.6-litre TDI Comfortline model.
While this entry level 1.6-litre TDI has an output of 120bhp, the 2.0-litre TDI comes with a choice of 150bhp and 190bhp. The Passat will be offered with a choice of two 1.4-litre petrol engines too, which Volkswagen claims shouldn’t be discounted if you do lower mileage.
Prices for the 1.6-litre diesel Passat start at €28,940. There is the usual Volkswagen grading of Trendline, Comfortline and Highline.
For 2015, Volkswagen Finance is offering a lower Personal Contract Plan (PCP) finance rate if you opt for the higher-grade models. This means a 1.9% APR rate for the top-spec Highline model, giving the same monthly fee for Trendline, Comfortline or Highline.
Volkswagen has some specification changes to the Golf for 2015. The new Golf estate joins the range in January and prices are expected to come in under €21,000.
The eGolf fully electric car will also be on sale from January, with prices after the Government grants for this car starting at €32,660.
Among Volkswagen’s 4x4 range, the new Touareg will go on sale in January. Volkswagen says that prices have been realigned and the specification improved. Prices now start at €69,675 for the 204bhp 3.0-litre V6 diesel, which is a significant price drop over the outgoing model.
Seat X-Perience on the way
The new Seat Leon X-Perience can be ordered now, with first deliveries in early 2015. The X-Perience is the first Leon all-road and comes for Ireland with a choice of two 2.0-litre TDI engines rated at either 150bhp or 184bhp. There will be a 1.6-litre diesel version with 110bhp and either 4wd or 2wd, all to follow.
Prices for the Leon X-Perience start at €32,495 for the 150bhp 4wd version and €35,495 for the 184bhp version. The X-Perience sits 15mm higher than the standard Leon ST and features a Haldex 4wd system which only works when required, thus conserving fuel.
Later in 2015, Seat will have facelifted versions of the Ibiza and Alhambra models as well as new trim grades for Mii, Alhambra and Toledo.
The third-generation Skoda Fabia will hit the market in 2015. Prices start at €13,895 and it is claimed the car is more refined than ever before. The new Fabia engines have been improved, with the 90bhp 1.2-litre TSI engine probably the best in the line-up. The new model comes in Active, Ambition and Style specifications and with a host of technological innovations, such as MirrorLink, which allows user to operate their Android Smartphones from their dashboard.
The new car is shorter and lower, but it has a longer wheelbase and has a 330-litre boot capacity. It is in fact 65kg lighter than the former model and Skoda says it can deliver up to 15% better fuel economy than previous models.
Skoda will also be offering the new Octavia Scout in January with a more distinctive front, Scout-specific bumper with black plastic moulding from €33,795. The lower front panel has a silver off-road attachment. The fog lights, with their sharp, distinctive shape are an exclusive Scout design. The radiator grille bears the Scout badge.
Skoda will have an interesting option for farmers in the shape of the new commercial version of the Yeti, called the Yeti Sherpa, available from January. The Sherpa comes with a list price of €17,911 plus VAT. Four-wheel drive is available as an upgrade from €1,300.
The car comes with a choice of 2.0-litre TDI 110bhp in two- and four-wheel drive or a 2.0-litre 140bhp DSG. The four-wheel drive option has a towing capacity of up to 2.2 tonnes, which is impressive for its size.
Skoda continues to offer an exclusive finance deal for IFA members. Skoda will contribute €1,000 towards a finance deposit on any new Skoda purchased by IFA members, using the Skoda finance option.
Audi’s first plug-in hybrid
Audi’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle, the new A3 Sportback E-Tron, with a fully electric range of 50km and overall range of 940km, will be available from January 2015. The car is priced from €39,950 on the road.
The larger Audi A6 has been overhauled for 2015. Standard equipment now includes xenon lights, navigation and acoustic glazing. First customer deliveries begin in January 2015. Priced from €44,750 on the road, the Avant, allroad, S and RS versions will all receive the same updates.
A new version of the Audi Q3 will be available at the end of March 2015. The upgrades for the Q3 include more efficient engines with 17% lower fuel consumption.
There are improvements to the bigger Q7, and they will appear towards the second half of 2015, while A4 enthusiasts will have to wait until the end of 2015 for the arrival of the 9th generation model.
Gowan Distributors Limited, Peugeot importers in Ireland, will be celebrating its youngest-ever range in 2015. The new Peugeot 108 will arrive in early 2015, equipped with 1.0 and 1.2-litre petrol engines.
The new Peugeot 508 has landed in dealer showrooms in time for 2015 deliveries, as well as the new Peugeot 308 SW.
New PureTech 1.2 110bhp and 130bhp petrol engines, plus new efficient automatic gearboxes, will be introduced across the Peugeot 308 range for January.
The Partner Tepee 1.6 HDi (75bhp or 90bhp) is available in 2015 from €19,990 plus delivery.
A new Expert Crew Cab equipped with a 2.0 HDi 128bhp diesel engine with six seats, has joined the Peugeot range for 2015.
This van conversion meets the needs of family and business users who carry passengers and retails from €27,890 plus delivery charges. All new Peugeot cars now come with a five-year warranty as standard.
Land Rover will launch the compact Discovery Sport in 2015. It will be fitted with a third row of rear seats as standard to give a 5+2 seating configuration. This new Land Rover comes with a new multi-link rear axle that helps to provide more cabin space behind the second row. It is claimed this suspension has a long movement for comfort and retains the Land Rover off-road ability.
As with every new Land Rover, safety has been a key priority in its development.
The Discovery Sport comes with a first-in-class pedestrian airbag, autonomous emergency braking, and a body structure that’s claimed to be made from a combination of ultra-high-strength steel and lightweight aluminium. It comes with a new eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system and standard tilt-and-slide row-two seating.
From launch, the Discovery Sport will be equipped with a 2.2-litre SD4 turbo-diesel engine producing 190bhp, with stop-start technology, high-pressure direct injection, low-friction internal components and smart regenerative charging for outstanding performance and economy. Both nine-speed automatic and six-speed manual transmissions are available.
Prices will be announced toward the start of 2015.
Toyota’s three-year
free servicing offer
There are few new models from Toyota after an extensive range upgrade in 2014. Toyota is offering three years’ free servicing on all passenger vehicles ordered by December 8 and registered by January 31, 2015. The new-generation Prius hybrid will not arrive in Ireland until the end of 2015.
The new Lexus RC F coupe will be launched in January. This car is powered by a 5.0L V8 petrol engine, making it the most powerful performance V8 car ever developed by Lexus.
Suzuki has a new Vitara for 2015, giving the Japanese brand a new SUV option at what is expected to be a more affordable price. It will be available as a two- or four-wheel-drive version.
Suzuki claims that in two-wheel drive and with a five-speed manual transmission, the new diesel-powered 1.6 litre, 120bhp Vitara has CO2 emissions of 106g/km.
The new Vitara will be smaller than the current Grand Vitara and will come with a new four-wheel-drive system and advanced safety features. The four-wheel-drive versions come with a limited slip differential fitted, which helps brake any slipping wheel and transfer torque to the gripping wheels.
The new Vitara’s active safety equipment includes a Radar Brake Support (RBS) system. At slow driving speeds, this system detects the vehicle in front, and if it senses the possibility of a collision, it warns the driver with a buzzer sound and a notification on the multi information display.
The Vitara will come with a high ground clearance and four off-road driving modes to suit the road surface and driving conditions. Production of the new Vitara will begin in Hungary in early 2015.
Suzuki has a new small car for the 2015 Irish market, called the compact Celerio.
Suzuki claims the car delivers space and style in a compact car, combined with low fuel consumption and low emissions. Prices start at €11,995 before delivery charges.
Hyundai’s new i20 small car comes with significant changes in styling, engine improvements and a host of new features. Compared to the old model, the wheelbase of the car has been significantly increased, which should give a more comfortable drive.
The new i20 comes with an improved 1.25 litre petrol engine that has a 112g/km CO2 rating. The entry Classic models come with six airbags, hill assist control for easier hill starts, a space saver spare wheel and an alarm.
One very useful feature for the deluxe version of the new i20 is the dash-mounted docking station that can take iPhones or android phones. It allows drivers to use the phone in Bluetooth mode for calls as well as giving full GPS functions from the phone through the car’s radio sound system.
Prices start at €15,995 for the entry level 75bhp version and rise to €20,495. The only diesel engine option is a 1.1 litre engine which adds another €1,500 to the price. Hyundai expects that the deluxe version, with 84bhp and a higher level of specification priced at €17,495, to be the best seller.
For the bigger i40, Hyundai has some specification changes for the new Executive version of the car. There is upgraded engine power from the 1.7 litre turbo-diesel now rated at 136bhp, plus a new front grille, rear privacy glass, keyless entry and new alloy wheels.
The Executive Plus version of the car gets a lot more, including full leather seating and start/stop button.
Prices for the Hyundai i40 Executive start at €28,495. That’s about €2,500 more than the entry version.
Lots of news at Nissan
2014 has been a busy year for Nissan and that means that there are lots of new cars to choose from for 2015. Everything is new for 2015 at Nissan, from the award winning Nissan Qashqai to the new X-Trail and the trendy Nissan Juke.
The Nissan Micra is totally revised for 2015. The car has new front and rear end designs and a completely revamped cabin with higher quality materials. Nissan’s latest Connect navigation and communication centre joins the range.
The new Juke is a unique combination of sport and SUV design. The Juke changes include a new design at the front and rear, a new downsized DIG-T 115 turbocharged petrol engine offering greater performance, economy and lower emissions, a revised DIG-T 190 diesel engine, a personalisation programme, advanced equipment including a new audio system, the latest generation NissanConnect driver-vehicle interface, Nissan Safety Shield, Nissan’s Dynamic Control system, plus a new open-air panoramic glass roof.
This latest Juke has increased space by 40% (up to 354 litres) in two-wheel drive versions. There is now even greater opportunity for owners to stamp their own personality on their Juke, with new colours and interior and exterior themes.
Nissan’s new Pulsar is impressive, spacious and stylish and replaces the popular Nissan Almera. The new Pulsar five-door hatchback features such as the Nissan Safety Shield system with moving object detection, lane departure warning and blind spot warning.
Nissan’s revolutionary around view monitor brings even more advanced technology to the sector, as does the latest-generation NissanConnect system that offers seamless integration with smartphones and full satellite navigation functions.
The car has a long wheelbase which delivers impressive rear leg space and more boot capacity. Engine choices include an all-turbocharged engine range, a 1.2-litre DIG-T petrol unit and a 1.5-litre dCi diesel.
Ford will launch the new Mondeo for January 2015 deliveries. It is available in two series initially, Zetec and Titanium. Prices will start from €28,995 for the Zetec and from €31,495 for the Titanium. Body styles will include five-door and a wagon or estate variant.
Standard specification on the new Mondeo Zetec includes 16in alloy wheels, front fog lamps, quick-clear windscreen, daytime running lights, trip computer, MyKey, SYNC, cruise control, leather steering wheel/gear lever, power front and rear windows and Auto Start Stop.
The new Ford Focus is comprised of four series from the entry-level Focus, Focus Style, Zetec and top-of-the-range Titanium. The range is available in a three-model line-up of five-door hatchback, four-door saloon and five-door estate. Prices start from €20,295.
Engine options for the new Focus will include Ford’s proven 1.6-litre (95bhp and 115bhp) and 2.0-litre diesels (150bhp). Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine (100 and 125bhp) will also be available.
The entry level Focus features ESP with Hill-Launch Assist, MyKey Gen 2, body colour bumpers and spoiler (five-door), electric front windows, tyre pressure monitoring system, power door mirrors with indicators, remote power locking with flip key, anti-allergic interior and capless refuelling.
Focus Titanium (in addition to Focus Zetec): 16in new Titanium alloys; keyless start; cruise control including speed limit function; dual-zone auto temperature control; power front and rear windows; global opening/closing; and front and rear LED reading lights.
Ford will be offering the option of an advanced perpendicular parking park assist, a new hands-free parking technology for the Focus.
This system helps drivers reverse into spaces alongside other cars. The extra sensors associated with this system also enable Ford to offer technologies that help drivers as they manoeuvre out of parking spaces for the first time in Europe.
Mini has expanded its range with the addition of a five-door version. It’s the first time in the history of the Mini brand that the hatch has been offered with two rear doors.
This new model is slightly bigger and more accessible than the three-door version and that has been achieved by expanding the wheelbase of the car. This gives a welcome 72mm (3in) more legroom in the back.
Overall, it is longer and taller than the three-door version. The rear seat backrest now comes with a 60:40 split so that it can be folded down to increase the load volume.
Mini claims that the new model offers an additional 15mm of headroom. Meanwhile, the car’s interior width at elbow height also increases by 61mm. The boot has a volume of 278 litres, up 67 litres or around 30 per cent compared to the three-door hatch.
The body of the new MINI Cooper five-door hatch and Cooper D five-door Hatch is 3,982mm long, 1,727mm wide and 1,425mm tall. This makes it 161mms longer and 11mm taller than the three-door hatch. The width remains unchanged. The wheelbase has been extended by 72mm to 2,567mm, while the track is identical to that of the three-door model.
The prices for the five-door hatch range start at €21,210 for the 1.2 litre three-cylinder petrol version. The entry diesel-powered Mini also has a three-cylinder engine and prices start at €22,430. There is a model-for-model price increase of €710 compared to the three-door version.
The entry models come with six-speed gearboxes as standard with an automatic option. The fuel economy rating for the entry petrol model is 4.9 litres/100km (20km/litre), while the diesel version is more thrifty at 3.7 litres/100km (27km/litre).
Mini’s go-kart feeling on the road is retained thanks to the use of the refined suspension technology. Variable Damper Control with adjustable dampers is available as an option, as are Mini driving modes which offer drivers the choice between Sport, Mid and Green modes.
Using a rotary switch at the base of the gearstick or selector lever, drivers can swap from the default Mid mode to either Sport or Green. The three choices offer a set-up which is either performance-oriented, comfortable and well-balanced or geared towards fuel efficiency. Mini driving modes also influence the ambient lighting, shift characteristics of the automatic transmission and the variable damper control if the option is selected.
On a relatively short first drive test, I found the suspension hard even at the mildest setting. The car handles superbly in every other respect. The improved 1.5 litre, three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine was very impressive, giving great acceleration coupled with good economy.
Mercedes Benz unveils new B-Class
Mercedes-Benz will have the new second generation B-Class car available from December in time for January registrations.
This mid-range car benefits from a major facelift with a revamped front end with new bumper, new wider radiator with star inset, new daylight running lights and new LED high performance headlamps.
Inside, changes include a new larger freestanding head unit and new instrument cluster. Various driving assistance systems, which have trickled down from S-Class and other frontline Mercedes-Benz models, are offered, some as standard and others as options. Included are the Attention Assist and Collision Prevention Assist systems, both standard on models sold in Ireland.
There are eight engines choices; four diesels and four petrol versions. The most popular is expected to be the 1461cc, 4-cylinder B160 CDI Style with a rated output of 90bhp, 240Nm at 1700rpm, and a CO2 figure of 108 which translates into annual road tax of just €190. The entry price for this car is just over €31,000 ex works.
Stay well on the road to stay safe
As the winter bears in on us all, drivers need to think about the extra challenges faced on the road particularly if they’re unwell. With more than 200 common cold viruses and three types of flu viruses, most of us will have a cold this winter. Yet many motorists will try and ignore the symptoms and get behind the wheel when it is unsafe to do so.
If you start feeling unwell you need to decide whether you should carry on or stay indoors and rest until the symptoms subside. If you do decide to carry on with a heavy cold or flu, be aware that your riding and driving can be severely affected.
Not only will your concentration drop by more than 50%, but your reaction time slows down. This may force you to brake more frequently and suddenly. Winter driving is stressful enough so you should not add to the stress and compromise yours and others’ safety when you are ill.
Symptoms, such as sneezing, runny eyes, fever and tiredness, individually or combined, are likely to affect your ability to ride and drive safely. While over-the-counter medicines may control a runny nose and sneezing they tend to contain codeine, which can blur your vision and make you feel extremely tired and drowsy.
If the label or the leaflet reads, ‘may cause drowsiness’ you should assume it will and therefore avoid travelling. Check with your GP about prescription drugs for more information about the side-effects.
Germs are easily spread from not keeping good hygiene practices. If you’re carrying passengers in your car while you’re ill, the likelihood is you’re going to pass on the cold or flu to them.
Making matters worse, some of these passengers may also be motorists who will ride and drive when they’re unwell. The more unwell motorists there are on the road, the more dangerous riding and driving will become.
Driving when you’re too tired to stay awake or when your ability is impaired will have serious implications. For example, as drivers can travel up to 15 metres (50ft) with their eyes closed during a sneeze, they can either temporarily lose control of their car or be involved in a serious accident; where you not only risk your own life but the lives of other road users.
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