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Future cars for this year and beyond

Jul03

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Future cars for this year and beyond

Posted by Geraldine Herbert on Jul 3, 2020

Future cars for this year and beyond

With new cars displaying the 202 plate this week, here is a taste of what is to come writes Geraldine Herbert BMW M5 COMPETITION BMW’s M cars have always been crafted in a very specific vein and any new addition is always keenly anticipated. On sale from July 1, the M5 Competition promises to be the sharpest and most performance-focused incarnation to date. A 4.4-litre V8 engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology has been tuned to deliver 625hp. It goes from zero to 200kmh in 10.8 seconds, with a top speed of 248kmh. The M5 Competition is a heady mix of high-performance, practicality and comfort but it doesn’t come cheap and leaves little change from €170,000. CITROEN C5 AIRCROSS PHEV An electrified version of the French firm’s large SUV will provide a much-needed boost to the brand. Powering the C5 Aircross PHEV is an 80kW four-cylinder petrol engine paired to an electric motor and 13.2kWh lithium-ion battery to deliver a 50km fully electric WLTP range. No Irish pricing has been confirmed at this stage. LAND ROVER DEFENDER The much-loved old Defender is finally replaced and while traditionalists may lament the departure of the back-to-basics original, this is a Defender for the modern age. According to Land Rover it has taken its much-loved characteristics and reimagined them for the 21st Century. Packed with technology, it is both practical and comfortable. Prices start from €68,160 for the Defender 110 2.0 SD4 AWD Auto model. The Defender 90 will launch at the end of the year and will be priced from €59,410. KIA XCEED PHEV Korean firm Kia has added a plug-in hybrid to its XCeed range. Powering the compact SUV is an 8.9kWh battery pack with a 44.5kW electric motor and a 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine. Kia reckons it has a pure electric driving range of up to 54km on a fully charged battery. Priced at €28,945, the XCeed PHEV is one of the most affordable plug-in hybrids on the market. LEXUS UX 300e Next year’s Lexus UX 300e will be the first all-electric vehicle from the Japanese firm and will be available from January 2021. The 54.3kWh battery is expected to deliver a range of over 300km, while a Lexus Link smartphone app will allow you to check the charge and driving range or to schedule the charging time. Reassuringly,...

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Look no hands – what you need to know about driverless cars

May25

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Look no hands – what you need to know about driverless cars

Posted by wheelsforwomen on May 25, 2019

Look no hands – what you need to know about driverless cars

It’s hard not to be seduced by the world of driverless cars, no more hunting for parking spaces when you go shopping and when you ready to head home, your car simply makes its way back to you. It should come as no surprise that according to a recent survey almost two-thirds of motorists welcome the arrival of driverless cars but what are driverless cars and when can we realistically expect to see them on our roads? What is a driverless car? While the self-driving car revolution is well underway not all driverless cars are created equal and to understand the speed at which the technology is changing, cars are classified according to 6 levels. Cars with no self-driving features are level 0 while a car that can drive itself anytime, anywhere, under any conditions with no human involvement is a level 5 or fully driverless car. Active Cruise Control which is a more advanced form of cruise control as it allows the car to control its own speed and distance from other vehicles is considered a level 2 feature. Level 3 cars can drive themselves for a large part of the motorway while cars that can drive around a city would be considered level 4 How do they work? Driverless cars navigate the world around them by using data from cameras as well as radar and laser sensors that collect the information needed to build a 360-degree picture of the road. This is used to alert the car to nearby objects, including other cars, pedestrians and cyclists. What problems have driverless cars faced? Each country where driverless cars have been tested presents new challenges – Volvo’s self-driving technology struggled to identify kangaroos on Australian roads. The Swedish car-makers models use a system to monitor the road for deer, elk and caribou, but the way in which kangaroos move confused the system as when they jumped they looked far away but when they landed they were much closer. Snow is also an issue for driverless cars as road markings disappear under even the thinnest layer. Will they make the roads safer? More than 90 per cent of car crashes are thought to involve some form of driver error. In contrast, self-driving cars are better than humans at obeying traffic rules and speed limits. They don’t drive too fast, they don’t text...

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Home » Future cars

Future cars for this year and beyond

Jul03

Future cars for this year and beyond

With new cars displaying the 202 plate this week, here is a taste of what is to come writes Geraldine Herbert BMW M5 COMPETITION BMW’s M cars have always been crafted in a very specific vein and any new addition is always keenly anticipated. On sale from July 1, the M5 Competition promises to be the sharpest and most performance-focused incarnation to date. A 4.4-litre V8 engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology has been tuned...

Read More

Look no hands – what you need to know about driverless cars

May25

Look no hands – what you need to know about driverless cars

It’s hard not to be seduced by the world of driverless cars, no more hunting for parking spaces when you go shopping and when you ready to head home, your car simply makes its way back to you. It should come as no surprise that according to a recent survey almost two-thirds of motorists welcome the arrival of driverless cars but what are driverless cars and when can we realistically expect to see them on our roads? What is a...

Read More