It’s SUV for victory!
I love good bodywork and one model stood out above the rest of the stunners this year
IT was something of a steadyas-she-goes year for the motor industry, with a lot of facelifts of existing models, and a few new entrants that were surefooted rather than revolutionary, and designed to more or less match competitors in their segments rather than reinvent the wheel.
That’s why the cars that actually did stand out were such a pleasure to fall upon with almost childlike glee. When you drive a new car every week, it is surprisingly easy for them all to start feeling just a little samey, so anything out of the common run is a pleasure.
The first to make my ears perk up was the new Micra, so different to what went before that there even was talk Nissan might change the name. Instead, they just changed the car from the ground up, making it look leaner and hungrier.
The real change is under the bonnet, though – there’s a 0.9-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that’s as good as anything else out there at the moment, and it delivers sparkling performance that belies it humble size.
The Micra competes against the Fiesta, and there was a new one of those this year too. Again, it was at its best with a threecylinder petrol engine, in this case the awesome Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost; if any trend will mark 2018, it will be smaller petrol engines finally reversing the decade-long stranglehold of diesel, increasingly seen as less environmentally friendly and even set for bans in many major cities.
Of course, electric will play its part too, and the latest version of BMW’s i8 was very impressive, though also very expensive at €152,320 (though, trust me, if you won the lottery, you’d have an order in within minutes of collecting the cheque). That’s why many will opt either for the Nissan Leaf, still the market leader, or the Renault Zoe, which comes with an impressive range of around 300km on a single charge in summer and 200km in winter. As far as mainstream cars go, that’s the best you’ll get; only upmarket Teslas will go further.
In the premium car segment, the best this year was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé. It looks great, it drives like a dream and it’s spectacularly well appointed inside. In fact, if I was in that market, I wouldn’t even think about an S-Class when the EClass now looks and feels so much better. I had a brief drive in the E-Class Cabriolet too, and I think it will become the go-to large convertible; everything about it oozes luxury and fun.
Other cars in the premium segment I greatly enjoyed were the Volvo XC60, which built on the reputation of the previous model and then exceeded it in terms of comfort, ride and handling. The BMW 4 Series M Sport Coupé, with 321hp on tap, was an absolute hoot. I took it for a long drive around Ireland and had a massive smile plastered across my face the entire time. It’s a bit of a beast, but taming it was great fun.
Audi’s Q5 and SQ7 brought a touch of class to the crowded SUV market, and the Peugeot 3008, my Car of the Year last year, proved so popular, the biggest problem is finding supply to meet demand. Its bigger sibling, the 5008, available as a seven-seater, further enhanced the Peugeot brand, which has seen new lustre in recent years.
Honda’s new Civic impressed, especially with so many safety aids as standard. I briefly drove the new SEAT Arona, a smaller sibling to the Ateca, and actually preferred it, especially in the cracking 1.0-litre engine variant. In the Volkswagen family, the new Arteon also impressed as an upmarket executive car, though whether there’s enough there to distract traditionalists from the premium German marques remains to be seen.
KIA launched another SUV/crossover, the Stonic, which scored for quirky looks and a colour palette with clear youthful appeal. It drove well too on test routes around Berlin, though they weren’t terribly taxing, and I look forward to testing it on a more familiar circuit of motorway, and bumpy country roads, in the new year.
Despite the ever-growing fondness for the SUV bodystyle, I still have a great grá for estate cars, and the best this year in the mass market was the Opel Insignia Sports Tourer, which offers cavernous space without sacrificing driveability.
Usually, when it comes to my Car of the Year, I take into account real-world issues such as price and running costs, but this year, I can’t pass up the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. With a ridiculously brilliant 510hp on tap, it drives with a sense of urgency that’s almost unparalleled out there right now. At just under 100 grand, it would be a madly impetuous buy, but my, what fun you would have. Giving it back broke my heart.
So, that’s my third choice. In second place is the Nissan Micra, because it showed that even a car with an image problem – and let’s be honest, the Micra always was either your first car, or your last one – can be turned around and made highly desirable.
My No.1 , though, is another SUV. Strong, sturdy and yet beautiful to look at, it offers seven-seat comfort, a warm cabin atmosphere, and lots of technology to make life easier, including wifi. The model I drove was powered by the 2.0-litre 190hp diesel engine, a wonderfully smooth powerplant that positively whispers even at any speed. Bold and confident, it’s a worthy winner – my Car of the Year is the Skoda Kodiaq.