As any motorist knows, however, looking after a car costs money. And in these difficult economic times, there may be a temptation to try and save some money by scrimping on car maintenance. Our advice is: don’t!

Long term benefits

For new car shoppers, meanwhile, the medium-term cost of car servicing and maintenance may not be an immediate ‘buyority’ as you browse the showroom. But the earlier you factor in the cost of the annual service, the more benefits you’ll reap in the longer term – especially when the time comes to change your car.

The fact is, skipping a car service might well save you money in the short term but it could end up costing you twice as much in the long run.

Why is that? The first reason is likely included in the Ts and Cs that came with your car warranty. Some manufacturers stipulate an annual service, not only to optimize the current health of the vehicle but to anticipate any remedial actions that might be needed down the track.

Protect your warranty

If you don’t stick to the recommended service schedule, there’s a chance you will render your car’s warranty null and void – which could be disastrous if anything does go wrong.

The second big reason to stay on top of your car maintenance schedule is sludge – nasty, icky sludge!

Nasty sludge

You see, when you bring your car for a normal service, your technicians will routinely change the engine oil. If you miss that service, sludge will start building up in the engine which affects both fuel economy and overall performance.

If enough sludge accumulates, it could cause long-term damage to the engine (very expensive to repair) and also affect your car’s emissions level – which could in turn see you failing your NCT.

On the other hand, by sticking to your recommended service schedule you ensure your car is performing at optimum level, all the time. Purely from a safety perspective, that in itself is money well spent.

Start adding value

You are also protecting your car from future issues, extending the life of the vehicle and prolonging its value if and when you decide to change. Whether your car is 10 years or 10 weeks old, it’s never too early to start adding value.

(Image thanks to Kelliher’s Garage.)

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Even at this early stage we’ve seen the arrival of several hot new models into Irish showrooms. And here, as part of our ongoing news and analysis, we run the rule over three new cars widely tipped to feature as contenders in the Irish Car of the Year awards 2020.

VW GOLF GTI TCR

First up is the new VW Golf GTI TCR, a very hot hatch with a proud motorsports heritage. And boy does it show! Inside and out, the new Golf GTI features sporty touches and flourishes including slimmer headlights, slick black air intake vents and wider side sills that give the car a crouching, powerful stance.

The sports theme continues inside, with chequered seat covers, sports steering wheel and classic ‘golfball’ gearstick.

Performance-wise, the new GTI offers a 2-litre turbo direct petrol injection engine (0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds) while the car is fitted with a range of performance features including electronic differential lock (XDS), advanced progressive steering and sports running gear.

There’s a cutting-edge infotainment system and a host of driver assistance options including Blind Spot Sensor with Rear Traffic Alert, adaptive cruise control (ACC) as standard and City Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring.

LEXUS RX 450hL

Next out of the blocks is the 7-seater Lexus RX 450hL, a family-sized SUV with a strong emphasis on luxury. The new Lexus hybrid features an even bigger and more versatile cargo space – think family holidays – with three rows of seats in a 40-20-40 split-bench configuration.

The new SUV is big on style too, with what Lexus describes as a ‘floating-roof’ effect created by blacked-out C-pillars as well as wrap-around L-shaped LED lights at the rear and the distinctive spindle grille.

Inside, the Takumi have been hard at work with a precision-finished cabin offering touches of craftsmanship here, there and everywhere including separate air-conditioning zones for each row of seats.

The new RX is available in Ireland with a choice of hybrid and petrol engines and a comprehensive safety package including pre-collision system (PCS) and pedestrian detection, lane-assist, automatic high-beam and all-speed dynamic radar cruise control plus side curtain airbags along all three rows.

AUDI Q8 50

Our trio of newcomers is completed by the new Audi Q8 50, another SUV that combines size with style and sporty credentials. The patriarch of Audi’s Q family features a distinctive front end with a very sleek silhouette and sculpted rear, with quattro ‘blisters’.

On the road, the new Q8 offers permanent all-wheel drive which the company says delivers better acceleration and deceleration with enhanced road-holding capabilities for a sporty drive.

This is an SUV that’s packed with technology, although in this case less (buttons) is more (convenience). The Q8 offers ‘MMI touch response’ with an intuitive control system designed to make it easier and safer to navigate between control and infotainment features. There’s also a 10-inch touchscreen and a high-res 3D map in the cockpit.

Safety is paramount, as you’d expect, with a range of assistance features including adaptive cruise control, efficiency assist, lane change warning, curb warning and a 360-degree camera, all backed up by a central driver assistance controller with a multitude of radar sensors, cameras and scanners.

Plenty more to come

Early contenders from VW, Lexus and Audi! But there will certainly be plenty more where those three new arrivals came from – we’ll be keeping you posted with more news as the year unfolds.

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Volvo’s acclaimed XC40 grabbed the headlines, winning the overall crown of 2019 Irish Car of the Year as well as storming to victory in the Irish Compact Crossover of the Year category – a great night’s work for Volvo!

A total of 10 category awards – in addition to the overall prize – were handed out in front of a packed audience of motoring journalists, manufacturers and industry representatives.

To mark another memorable night in the Irish automotive calendar, we’ve put together a special 2-minute video recap featuring all the 2019 winners, as well as a few familiar faces. Enjoy!

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Motoring journalists from print, online and broadcasting hosted a gala black tie event attended by Ireland’s leading car brands, importers, distributors and other motoring dignitaries.

The Volvo took the top award with its XC40 model which was also named as Irish Compact Crossover of the Year category winner.

ICOTY Committee member Bob Flavin said: “Congratulations to the Volvo XC40 for winning through from a field of some 48 new models launched this year on the Irish market.”

ICOTY Committee member Mark Gallivan said: “What a wonderful array of cars we had in this year’s competition, it was a very tight race and the XC40 is a very worthy winner.”

Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres said about the awards: “The choices of the Irish Car of the Year jury provide a great helping hand to Irish consumers in navigating their way through the bewildering array of high tech vehicles that are launched in Ireland each year and in this regard, Continental is delighted to be associated with the Irish Car of the Year awards.”

The category winners: 

• Ford Focus – Irish Small / Compact Car of the Year 2019
• SEAT Arona – Irish Small Crossover of the Year 2019
• Volvo XC40 – Irish Compact Crossover of the Year 2019
• Skoda Karoq – Irish Medium Crossover of the Year 2019
• Volkswagen Touareg – Irish Large Crossover of the Year 2019
• Mercedes Benz CLS – Irish Executive / Premium Car of the Year 2019
• Ford Fiesta ST – Irish Hot Hatchback of the Year 2019
• BMW M5 – Irish Performance Car of the Year 2019
• Nissan Leaf – Irish Green / Efficient Car of the Year 2018
• Nissan Leaf E Pedal – Irish Car of the Year Innovation Award 2019

Apart from the Innovation category award winner, the nine other category winners were all in the running for the top honour with the judging panel of some 33 journalists electing the Volvo XC40 by a very slim margin.  The 2018 Irish Car of the Year award was won by the Peugeot 3008.

The Mercedes Benz Sprinter was voted as Irish Van of the Year 2019.

The Irish Car of the Year committee.

Bob Flavin, Mark Gallivan, Eoin Treacy and Martin McCarthy.

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The Refresher Drive days are organised so as to give the jurors an opportunity to ‘refresh’ their memory of cars they may have driven more than six months ago, ahead of the final voting deadline on October 31.

The line up of 48 cars (and 7 vans) made for a very impressive sight as they were lined up along the pit lane.

The 10 categories and overall Irish Car of the Year winner for 2019 will be announced at a gala black tie event at the Gibson Hotel, Dublin, on Thursday night November 8.

Irish Car of the Year 2019 (and Van)

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