The new Volvo XC40 was voted as Ireland’s top car for 2019 in the Irish Car of the Year award announced last week and staged with the support of Continental Tyres. The voting jury for the awards was made up of 33 motoring journalists from print, online and broadcasting who voted the latest Volvo compact crossover, by a very slim margin, as their top choice from a total of 48 new cars introduced during 2018 for the 2019 market. The Volvo XC40 was also the winner in the Irish Compact Crossover category.
The aim of the annual Irish Car of the Year award is to help Irish car buyers to make the best choices from the large numbers of new high-technology cars, now introduced to the Irish market on an annual basis.
The XC40 is Volvo’s first entry in the small SUV segment, broadening the appeal of the Volvo brand and moving it in a new direction.
The car is by no means cheap with entry prices starting from €38,900 for a very basic model, so it won’t be everyone’s affordable choice.
Features
In terms of technology, the XC40 brings the award-winning safety, connectivity and infotainment technologies known from the new 90- and 60-series cars to the small SUV segment. Volvo has claimed that these technologies make the XC40 one of the best-equipped small premium SUVs on the market.
Safety and driver-assistance features on the XC40 include Volvo’s pilot-assist system, city safety, run-off road protection and mitigation, cross traffic alert with brake support, and the 360° camera that helps drivers manoeuvre their car into tight parking spaces.
The XC40 also claims to offer a new approach to storage inside the car. There is more functional storage space in the doors and under the seats, a special space for phones (including inductive charging), a fold-out hook for small bags and a removable waste bin in the tunnel console.
Since 2018, the Volvo XC40 has been available with a choice of either the D4 diesel or a T5 petrol engine, both of which are four-cylinder engines. Volvo aims to add a hybrid and full electric version later as well as a new three-cylinder petrol engine.
The new XC40 is the first model on Volvo Cars’ new modular vehicle architecture (CMA), which was co-developed within Volvo’s Chinese owners Geely Automobile.
Results
The category winners in the 2019 Irish Car of the Year award:
Irish Small/Compact Car of the Year 2019: Ford Focus.Irish Small Crossover of the Year 2019: SEAT Arona.Irish Compact Crossover of the Year 2019: Volvo XC40.Irish Medium Crossover of the Year 2019: Skoda Karoq.Irish Large Crossover of the Year 2019: Volkswagen Touareg.Irish Executive/Premium Car of the Year 2019: Mercedes Benz CLS.Irish Hot Hatchback of the Year 2019: Ford Fiesta ST.Irish Performance Car of the Year 2019: BMW M5.Irish Green/Efficient Car of the Year 2019: Nissan Leaf.Irish Car of the Year Innovation award 2019: Nissan Leaf E Pedal.Irish Van of the Year 2019: The Mercedes Benz Sprinter.Irish Farmers Journal verdict – the Nissan Leaf
Over the past 12 months the Irish Farmers Journal has tested over 50 cars and vans as part of regular test drive reports. Each time we drive a car or van in a way that we expect regular drivers will do, evaluating its performance across a range of parameters including comfort, driving ease, value for money and ownership cost, they are all benchmarked against other similar cars and vans.
When it comes to voting in the annual Irish Car of the Year award, long-established by the Irish Motoring Writers Association, this takes on a higher level of responsibility. This is because this year we were required to make single car choice from among the category winners listed above.
Our ultimate choice as Irish Car of the Year 2019 was the full electric Nissan Leaf because it’s simply a game changer for the motoring public. The Irish Farmers Journal drove this car across Ireland covering over 1,200km, as part of a normal working week. It went to Cork, Portlaoise, Kells and Leitrim, plus shorter journeys.
Driving the Nissan Leaf has done something that no other car has done. It has changed our attitude to motoring and journey planning, made us aware of the true cost opportunities when making the change to electric car ownership and it has eliminated our range fears.
The car is modern, stylish and desirable. The Nissan e-Pedal is a true innovation, eliminating the need for drivers to constantly move their foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal to slow down or stop.
And it delivers the best use of battery power to maximise range opportunities.
The fact that the national charging network is abysmally poor should not have taken away from the performance and opportunities that the Nissan Leaf provides.
Unfortunately, the network issues overshadowed the real opportunities that cars like the Nissan Leaf can deliver to all motorists, the Irish environment and economy.
The new Volvo XC40 was voted as Ireland’s top car for 2019 in the Irish Car of the Year award announced last week and staged with the support of Continental Tyres. The voting jury for the awards was made up of 33 motoring journalists from print, online and broadcasting who voted the latest Volvo compact crossover, by a very slim margin, as their top choice from a total of 48 new cars introduced during 2018 for the 2019 market. The Volvo XC40 was also the winner in the Irish Compact Crossover category.
The aim of the annual Irish Car of the Year award is to help Irish car buyers to make the best choices from the large numbers of new high-technology cars, now introduced to the Irish market on an annual basis.
The XC40 is Volvo’s first entry in the small SUV segment, broadening the appeal of the Volvo brand and moving it in a new direction.
The car is by no means cheap with entry prices starting from €38,900 for a very basic model, so it won’t be everyone’s affordable choice.
Features
In terms of technology, the XC40 brings the award-winning safety, connectivity and infotainment technologies known from the new 90- and 60-series cars to the small SUV segment. Volvo has claimed that these technologies make the XC40 one of the best-equipped small premium SUVs on the market.
Safety and driver-assistance features on the XC40 include Volvo’s pilot-assist system, city safety, run-off road protection and mitigation, cross traffic alert with brake support, and the 360° camera that helps drivers manoeuvre their car into tight parking spaces.
The XC40 also claims to offer a new approach to storage inside the car. There is more functional storage space in the doors and under the seats, a special space for phones (including inductive charging), a fold-out hook for small bags and a removable waste bin in the tunnel console.
Since 2018, the Volvo XC40 has been available with a choice of either the D4 diesel or a T5 petrol engine, both of which are four-cylinder engines. Volvo aims to add a hybrid and full electric version later as well as a new three-cylinder petrol engine.
The new XC40 is the first model on Volvo Cars’ new modular vehicle architecture (CMA), which was co-developed within Volvo’s Chinese owners Geely Automobile.
Results
The category winners in the 2019 Irish Car of the Year award:
Irish Small/Compact Car of the Year 2019: Ford Focus.Irish Small Crossover of the Year 2019: SEAT Arona.Irish Compact Crossover of the Year 2019: Volvo XC40.Irish Medium Crossover of the Year 2019: Skoda Karoq.Irish Large Crossover of the Year 2019: Volkswagen Touareg.Irish Executive/Premium Car of the Year 2019: Mercedes Benz CLS.Irish Hot Hatchback of the Year 2019: Ford Fiesta ST.Irish Performance Car of the Year 2019: BMW M5.Irish Green/Efficient Car of the Year 2019: Nissan Leaf.Irish Car of the Year Innovation award 2019: Nissan Leaf E Pedal.Irish Van of the Year 2019: The Mercedes Benz Sprinter.Irish Farmers Journal verdict – the Nissan Leaf
Over the past 12 months the Irish Farmers Journal has tested over 50 cars and vans as part of regular test drive reports. Each time we drive a car or van in a way that we expect regular drivers will do, evaluating its performance across a range of parameters including comfort, driving ease, value for money and ownership cost, they are all benchmarked against other similar cars and vans.
When it comes to voting in the annual Irish Car of the Year award, long-established by the Irish Motoring Writers Association, this takes on a higher level of responsibility. This is because this year we were required to make single car choice from among the category winners listed above.
Our ultimate choice as Irish Car of the Year 2019 was the full electric Nissan Leaf because it’s simply a game changer for the motoring public. The Irish Farmers Journal drove this car across Ireland covering over 1,200km, as part of a normal working week. It went to Cork, Portlaoise, Kells and Leitrim, plus shorter journeys.
Driving the Nissan Leaf has done something that no other car has done. It has changed our attitude to motoring and journey planning, made us aware of the true cost opportunities when making the change to electric car ownership and it has eliminated our range fears.
The car is modern, stylish and desirable. The Nissan e-Pedal is a true innovation, eliminating the need for drivers to constantly move their foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal to slow down or stop.
And it delivers the best use of battery power to maximise range opportunities.
The fact that the national charging network is abysmally poor should not have taken away from the performance and opportunities that the Nissan Leaf provides.
Unfortunately, the network issues overshadowed the real opportunities that cars like the Nissan Leaf can deliver to all motorists, the Irish environment and economy.
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