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IRISH CAR OF THE YEAR

THE Volvo XC40 has been named Irish Car of the Year for 2019, hardly unexpectedly given the fact that it already is European Car of the Year. The awards, run in association with Continental Tyres, took place on Thursday night in Dublin, where the XC40 also won in the compact crossover category. In other categories, the winners were Ford Focus (small/compact); SEAT Arona (small crossover); Skoda Karoq (medium crossover); Volkswagen Touareg (large crossover); Mercedes-Benz CLS (executive/premium); Ford Fiesta ST (hot hatchback); BMW M5 (performance); and Nissan LEAF (green/efficient). The innovation award went to the Nissan LEAF E pedal, which allows you accelerate and brake with just one pedal. The XC40 succeeds Peugeot’s 3008, which held the title for the last year. As for Van of the Year, that accolade went to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. As always, I’ll be naming my own car of the year on the last Saturday of 2018 – I still have a few to drive yet.

PLUG INTO AUDI’S E-TRON

AUDI’S new electric SUV, the e-tron, is available to order from January, with pricing from €101,750, exclusive of Government grants, which should knock ten grand off the price. You can order online with a deposit of €2,000. Audi claims a range of 400km on a single charge, and a 0-100km/h acceleration of under six seconds.