Features | Motoring News Ireland

Is Owning a Car and Short Term Car Leasing Mutually Exclusive?

When a person needs access to a car for a few weeks or longer, they usually either buy or lease, and like ‘custard or cream?’ or ‘brown sauce or ketchup?’ this choice is usually mutually exclusive. However, when it comes to vehicles, there are certain circumstances where the options may not be yin and yang. Here are 5 circumstances where short term car leasing can actually complement your current car ownership or the decision to buy a vehicle. Testing the Goods Have you e

Worth waiting for - The Skoda Octavia

Five real people show us their real reactions on the 2017 Skoda Octavia - here's what they think!

Car Buyers Guide brought five potential buyers to Mondello Park to drive five different cars to get their impressions. The Skoda Octavia took the title of being the medium saloon car that we would recommend for 2018. The Skoda Octavia is an obvious choice if you don’t want a Volkswagen Golf. We reckon it has an edge on the Volkswagen Golf too being more roomy and cheaper. The 2.0TDI 150hp varia

Worth waiting for - The Mazda2

Five real people give us their real reactions on the Mazda2. This is one of the most underrated superminis.

Car Buyers Guide brought five potential buyers to Mondello Park to drive five different cars to get their impressions. Representing the supermini segment, we had the Mazda2. This Mazda2 is powered by a 1.5 petrol engine with 90hp. Prices start at €16,095 with this one, with options, coming in at €21,505. We picked the Mazda to represent the city car segment because we reckon it&rs

Worth waiting for - The Kia Stonic

We asked five real people to give us their real reactions on the brand new Kia Stonic. 

Car Buyers Guide brought five potential buyers to Mondello Park to drive five different cars to get their impressions. Kia recently launched its new B-segment crossover to the Irish market, the Kia Stonic. The Stonic has serious competition from the likes of the Nissan Juke, Toyota C-HR, Peugeot 2008 and Mazda CX-3. The Stonic we had was specced with the 1.4MPI naturally aspirated petrol engine producing

Worth waiting for - Real reactions for 181

Car Buyers Guide have asked five random strangers for their real reactions for five cars that we'd recommend for 181. 

Every week we bring numerous reviews to the Car Buyers Guide website. It’s a job we love doing, but a few weeks ago we decided to find out what non-motor journalists think about the cars in our market. In this month’s feature we film and find real reactions from real people regarding some choice cars on our market. In this month’s feature, the Car Buyers Gu

Prep Your Car For Winter

Met Eireann have announced a frosty spell coming upon us. Be prepared with our Winter prep guide

The season is upon us. Met Eireann announced this morning that a Polar Low will fall over Ireland this week. Snow and ice is expected to fall on high ground such as the Wicklow mountains and lows of minus 2 degrees are on the cards. While this is to be expected this time of year, especially in Ireland, we can never be over-prepared for Winter driving. So here is our guide to surviving the chilly weath

The Journey to One Million Miles in a Lexus LS400

I am just finished my last year of college and needed one final fair well to student life. I figured that by doing a J1 would be the best way to do this. I worked and lived in Chicago, Illinois for three months but the best part of the trip was the week I spent road tripping through California in a first generation Lexus LS400, with a twist.

In 1996, Lexus built a white LS400 with cream leather interior. One lucky and eager customer went to the dealership, signed a piece of paper and parted with

Why doesn't everybody understand the zipper lane?

Merging lanes in Ireland... somehow, I don’t think some of us get it!

We live in a world where everyone is rushing. This is especially noticeable on our roads. If you travel along any of our motorways with the cruise control set at 120km/h, it's very often you'll notice that someone overtakes you. When you're in a queue waiting to order your burger and chips, you'll notice some sly little dog (no offence doggies) trying to edge in front of you, and then... there's the zipper lane – or

Why are child car seats so important?

"In a recent study, the RSA inspected 5000 child seat installations from the public and found that over 4000 of them needed adjustments of some kind to ensure optimum safety."

Most of us will have to deal with the hassle of choosing, buying, and installing child car seats at some stage in our lives. That is with good reason. Not only are child car seats vital for ensuring the safety of kids sitting in your vehicle, it is illegal to not have an appropriate seat when transporting children.Whether i

Baby Seat Standards Explained: Isofix & i-Size

Most cars produced from 2007 will to have Isofix attachments. If you are unsure whether or not your vehicle comes with Isofix, check your owners manual.  

Isofix is the international standard for built-in attachment points for child seats in passenger vehicles. Most cars produced from 2007 onwards are likely to have Isofix attachments. All new vehicles produced since February 2013 are required to have Isofix lower anchorages and top tether attachments.   Image from RoMaNo under Cre