Revved up for 182!

Thinking of buying a 182? We’ve the lowdown on the latest machines on sale in Ireland, will tell you what’s hot, and give the offers you should take a closer look at...

÷ALFA ROMEO

Car fans love the Italian brand and many enthusiasts say you aren’t a real petrol-head unless you’ve owned one. Sadly, historic reliability issues and a small sales network in Ireland have meant the Fiat-owned brand is a rare enough sighting on Ireland’s roads. The Mito supermini (from €18,495) and Giulietta (from €22,250) are rare spots for Alfistas but two newer Alfas are starting to make waves for the brand. The rear wheel drive Giulia saloon (from €39,995) that is an Audi A4/ BMW 3 Series rival is a brilliant driver’s car and more recently the Stelvio SUV (from €47,295) have helped increase the brand’s momentum. The Stelvio is a driver-focused machine with Giulia’s sharp steering. The five-seat crossover SUV is built using lots of the Giulia’s parts and is brilliant fun to drive, in fact it encourages drivers to take the twisty way home. Passengers get a firm and sporty ride. If you have deep pockets and love driving the Quadrifoglio (Cloverleaf) high-performance version is the Alfa you want with its Ferrari sourced engine. Alfa is back on the right track with Giulia and Stelvio but until its reputation is fully rebuilt with fleet buyers don’t expect either to become volume sellers. For 182 Alfa Romeo has a scrappage offer of up to €4,500. For more details click on alfaromeo.ie or visit your local dealer.

÷BMW

In Ireland the premium brand is adored and in a constant battle with its arch rival Audi for customers and the No.1 premium car sales title. BMW continues to deliver cars and niche models to enslave buyers and this year is no different. We’ve lost count of how many times BMW has launched niche models that nobody was asking for, that is, until we saw them. The latest new model launched is the BMW X2 crossover (from €39,230). Slotting above the X1 (from €35,900) and below the X3 (from €52,620), the curvy SUCV is targeting Audi’s Q2 and Volvo’s XC40. The rise of the SUV has been phenomenal. At the turn of the century BMW just had one SUV – the legendary X5, now it has X models from the X1 to X7! Petrol and diesel continue to be the dominant fuel choice but the rise of BMW’s ‘i’ Electric division and range of ‘e’ PHEV plug in hybrid offerings are increasing all the time. BMW’s pricing reflects its current nine per cent discount on its range. BMW is also offering 24-hour test drives.

Visit your local dealership or click on bmw. ie for more information.

÷CITROEN

Citroen is back doing what it does best and that’s making affordable, comfortable and innovative cars. The latest Citroen to launch features clever softly sprung suspension and thick memory foam seats, great for bumpy Irish roads. The 2018 C4 Cactus (from €19,995) has been given a major makeover and replaces the original Cactus but also the C4 hatchback that is going out of production about now. Citroen says people want crossovers more than conventional hatchbacks and the great value for money C4 Cactus shows the firm’s new direction. Citroen also has a brilliant SUV on sale with its new C3 Aircross (from €20,695). It is big on space and style. As ever people carriers are aplenty with the PSA Group brand. Keep an eye out for Spacetourer as this name replaces Picasso as the brands MPV identifier. The C4 Spacetourer starts from €25,695 and Grand C4 Spacetouer with its seven seats starts from €28,995. Citroen has a range of offers including scrappage from €1,000-€4,000 depending on the model.

Click on citroen.ie for info or call in to your local dealership.

÷DACIA

Renault’s sub brand has been a huge hit with Irish car buyers on a budget. New cars don’t come any cheaper than with the Dacia range. The entry model Sandero (from €10,690) is a competent supermini that undercuts rivals yet does a similar job. The Sandero Stepway is the slightly taller, more rugged looking, crossover version (from €13,490). The Dacia Duster (from €16,890) SUV crossover is great value for square footage while the Logan MCV (from €11,890) offers an estate body for a fraction of the cost of mainstream rivals. Savings have been made by Dacia by using common parts and switches etc. to keep costs down. Once buyers manage their expectations Dacia offer the easiest way to satisfy the craving for a new car for the least amount of money. If you want a new car that is cheap and affordable Dacia is yer only man, but remember you will have to sell it on one day for a lot less than you might think it’s worth. Check out dacia.ie for more information.

÷DS

French flare is alive and well with DS but it’s not quite yet the premium brand it wants to be just yet. Citroen brought DS back to life but instead of truly paying homage to the 1950s classic DS it basically polished up existing Citroens. The range is still based on platforms and engines sourced from French giant PSA Group. The model line up features a Mini rival in the DS3 supermini (from €21,570) available in petrol and diesel. The DS4 (from €27,295) is a compact hatch with diesel and petrol power while the DS4 Crossback (from €30,795) is a crossover version. The DS5 (from €36,495) is a diesel executive five-seater and the DS7 Crossback (from €TBA) arriving soon is DS’s large crossover. Three years free servicing and a five-year unlimited mileage warranty are standard with DS vehicles in Ireland.

Click on dsautomobiles.ie for more info.

÷FIAT

This Italian brand was once a top selling car brand in Ireland. Today due to a limited range and small dealer network the brand sells in tiny numbers. That said, a few of its cars are pretty cool. The 124 Spider (from €32,395) is a co-production with Mazda (MX-5) and is powered by Fiat’s 1.4 turbo petrol engine. The 124 convertible features slightly softer suspension than its Japanese sister, while it’s body appears to be more substantial on the outside even if it has identical dimensions inside the two seat cabin. The Fiat 500 (from €13,500) is a value-

for- money rival for the popular Mini. A new special edition this year is the 500 ‘Collezione’ that pays homage to the original baby Fiats will be packed with extras. The Fiat 500X (from €19,900) is a sister car of the Jeep Renegade and a really likeable crossover. The Panda (from €12,845) city car is one of the best little urban cars on sale. Sitting as the flagship in Fiat’s car range is the excellent value for money Tipo (from €17,995). Body styles available features a five door hatch, saloon (from €17,995) and station wagon (from €23,495). Sadly it is too easy to forget about the rest of Fiat’s functional passenger car range like the 500L and Qubo.

Fiat has various promo offers including a swappage offer worth up to €2,000 and a welcome bonus of up to €2,500 (until the end of July).

Find out more at fiat.ie

÷HONDA

The Japanese car maker is known for its excellence in engineering and while its cars can seem expensive next to rivals, they represent excellent value for money in the long run. This year we’ve seen a couple of Civics join the range, namely the Type R (from €51,750) and Civic diesel (from €25,550). A Civic saloon will arrive in August. The Type R is a pin up and essentially a supercar for fifty grand in a hatchback body that Batman would be proud of. In the real world of commuting the 1.6 litre diesel will sip fuel and deliver impressive pulling power. The diesel joins the lively 1 litre (from €23,750) and 1.5 litre (from €28,550) petrol engines in the range. The entire Civic range features Honda Sensing Suite a comprehensive combination of safety driving aids ADAS that will help keep occupants safe. Honda is running a sales campaign for 182 called ‘Powered by Adrenaline’ featuring a free service plan on all diesels, complimentary motor tax for Honda Jazz models and a choice of one of extras. Check out honda.ie for more or visit your local dealership.

÷HYUNDAI

This Korean giant keeps growing and is consistently in the global top five of vehicle makers. Its SUV range has expanded this year with the arrival of the excellent Kona (from €20,995). The supermini-based Kona joins the top selling Tucson (from €26,245) that is much loved by families. The i10 town car (from €12,995) remains a perfect urban runabout while the i30 range (from €20,245) has expanded with the very handsome and business-like i30 Fastback (from €24,995) and ridiculously entertaining and powerful i30N (from €39,995) hot hatchback. Forty grand is actually value for money when you consider you get 275hp and a heap of racing technology as standard. The latest Santa Fe is on the way and the popular machine is an expanding families best friend. The Ioniq is driving the green agenda with three models available powered by EV only all electric (from €28,995), plug in hybrid PHEV petrol/ electric (from €31,995) and hybrid HEV petrol/electric (from €32,495).

For 182 Hyundai is offering its fiveyear warranty plus five years free health check, five years roadside assistance, scrappage and emissions reduction offer of up to €5,000, five years free servicing.

Click on hyundai.ie for more.

÷JEEP

The iconic brand is a niche player in Ireland but new product is trying to change this. The latest machine to join the SUV range is the new Jeep Compass (from €27,995). The Compass is available in FWD front wheel drive or AWD (from €34,695) all wheel drive with a choice of petrol or diesel engines. The entry engine is a 1.6 litre M-jet (multi-jet) diesel with 120hp. A 1.4 litre ‘TM-air’ petrol engine produces 140hp to the front wheels. The range topper is a 2 litre M-jet unit that powers four wheel drive versions. This diesel is also the most powerful unit with 170hp. The Jeep grade structure starts with Sport, rises to Longitude with the obligatory ‘Limited’ the top of the range. The Compass range will be fully available by July and it joins the cute Jeep Renegade (from €21,950), Cherokee (from €45,750) and Grand Cherokee (from €73,750). A new Cherokee and Wrangler are due later this year. For 182, Jeep is offering scrappage of up to €4,000. More info can be found at jeep.ie

÷LAND ROVER

The off road specialist Land Rover has been fudging the lines between its luxury Range Rover brand and its traditional workhorse Land Rover brand. Step in... sorry, step up into a LR Discovery (from €56,085) and you will experience a premium feeling and driving experience. The versatile machine can literally go places you’d only see goats. A PHEV plug in hybrid Discovery is on the way to soothe any emission-worried buyers. While we await the LR Defender replacement there is only one other car in the range and that is the handsome Discovery Sport midsized SUV. Range Rover has four models in its line up including the full fat king of the road Range Rover (from €120,055). This year has been busy with the launch of a car that sits below the Range Rover Sport (from €78.860), the great looking Range Rover Velar starts from €62,240. Most Velar’s will only see tarmac but don’t be fooled for one minute there is plenty of off road ability should Brown Thomas or Harvey Nics open a store on top of a mountain. The access point to Range Rover ownership is the striking Evoque (from €42,190) in two wheel drive form. Current offers include a €4,000 deposit contribution on Discovery Sport and Evoque. Click on landrover.ie for more info on its brands.

÷LEXUS

Lexus is keeping things fresh and luxurious with its new LS flagship saloon (from €112,750), LC coupe (from €110,950) and ES saloon that’s due in December. Toyota’s luxury brand continues to offer excellent hybrid petrol/electric models with a few traditional engine powered machines in the range. Lexus models are named with two letters and start with the Prius-based CT (from €31,900), the sharp looking IS saloon (from €40,950) is a popular 3 Series/ A4 rival. The RC coupe (from €49,950) is very pretty, while the RCZ (from €108,950) is so powerful it should be in a cage at the zoo. The stunning LC coupe is so breathtaking it should come with a health warning for asthmatics. Its impressive grand tourer comes in LC500h hybrid guise or good old V8 by special order. The seventh generation GS is renamed ES and the 5 Series better watch its back arrives. Lexus will bring its UX compact SUV to the market shortly to join the midsized NX (from €47,950) and full-size RX (from €71,450) range. Check out lexus.ie for info and offers.

÷MAZDA

The MX-5 (from €27,995) is a legend and with the recent addition of the MX5 RF retractable fastback (from €31,495) the Japanese brand has a highly desirable sports car range. The Mazda2 starts off the range from €16,095, followed by the Mazda CX-3 compact SUV that starts at €20,995. The Golf rivalling Mazda3 starts from €23,295 and the beautiful Mazda6 weighs in from €29,295 and is a genuine challenger to the traditional premium offerings. The recently refreshed CX-5 SUV starts from €28,995 and is quite sporty to drive compared to the competition.

There are some tempting 182 offers from Mazda as customers can choose a Summer Bonus discount of: €4000 off Mazda6, €3000 off Mazda3, €750 off Mazda2, €750 off CX-3 or €750 off the brilliant MX-5. The Mazda2, Mazda3 and Mazda6 also have an ecoupgrade offer for those trading in a car 10 years or older. Click on mazda. ie for more.

÷MERCEDES-BENZ

New models fres the 182 period includ compact A Class h back and new CLS door coupe. The A Class is a leap ward. Even if on first glance it pretty similar to the outgoing m there are some lovely design tou to captivate the eye. Technology been brought to the fore and you now say ‘Hey Mercedes’ much you can say ‘Hey Siri’ or ‘Hey A to your smart phone/device to int with its functions. Inside the n Class the cabin features a new layout that in top specification is ily the best in class.

The new X Class pick up that is production with Nissan, sees the man firm dip its toe into the wor the building trade and horsey set don’t need a Mercedes-Benz van Mercedes-Benz E Class (from €48 continues to be one of the best ex tive cars you can buy. The face-l C Class family of saloon, estate, c cabriolet and AMG will launch in tember so expect to get some deals on the run out stock in de ships at present starting from €3