CONTEmPLATIONS

| NEWS 1 64 | CONTEMPLATIONS As featured elsewhere on these pages, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Ireland (VWCVI) recorded a unique double recently, with its all-electric ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo respectively winning the Irish Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2023 and Irish Van of the Year (IrVOTY) 2023 Awards in association with Continental Tyres. Incidentally it must also mark the first time a commercial vehicle distributor has won the ICOTY award - VWCVI, rather than the passenger car side of Volkswagen Ireland, looks after the van derived and larger passenger carrier vehicles that also include the Multivan, Caddy, Shuttle and the California campervan family.

As a member of the Motoring Media Association of Ireland (along with Fleet Publications colleagues Jarlath Sweeney & Paul White) that determines the ICOTY and IrVOTY accolades, it was pleasing to see the ID. Buzz range achieve these successes, having given it my top votes in both categories. Being in the fortunate position of driving most new cars and vans when they are launched, it has to be said that they’re an increasingly homogenised lot these days. Perhaps that’s me getting cynical in my old age, but then occasionally something comes along that is sufficiently innovative to get the old blood stirring again.

And different the ID. Buzz certainly is. It’s been a long time, if ever, that I’ve driven a vehicle that gets such a positive reaction from passers-by. Volkswagen has done an excellent job in drawing on its heritage with the old air-cooled Type 2 van, while offering a thoroughly modern and practical vehicle whether in passenger or commercial form. It oozes appeal inside and out, drives very nicely indeed, and offers state-of-the-art electric propulsion. This is the vehicle that can make vans and MPVs sexy - what chance of it becoming the ‘must be seen in’ school collection vehicle of choice?

Of course the ID. Buzz wasn’t the only winner at the Irish Car of the Year Awards. Earlier it had scooped the Irish MPV of the Year category award, while the Fiat 500e, Opel Astra, Citroën C5X, BMW i4 M50, a brace of Kias in the Sportage and Niro, plus a trio of Mercedes-Benz cars - the C-Class, EQE and EQS, all won category awards. Interestingly of those ten winners, five are all-electric models, while all of the rest offer electrification within the range. Those that impressed me most during the year included the Kia Niro, which, in electric form, is a worthy smaller sibling to last year’s Irish Car of the Year, the Kia EV6. The Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS prove that luxury long distance electric driving is now here. Opel’s Astra is the best new model from that brand in some time, and once the electric version arrives next year will truly offer a variant for every user. The Citroën C5X brings the French brand back into the market it does best - large, comfortable family cars. And a blast around Mondello Park in BMW’s i4 M50 proved that electric can be seriously quick fun!

A couple of cars that didn’t win awards also deserve mention in my opinion. Notably the all-electric Renault Megane E-Tech which is not only stylish, but brings new refinement and finish levels to the French brand. Nissan’s Ariya is another car that further blurs the increasingly fuzzy lines between mainstream and premium. Firmly in that mainstream category is the Dacia Jogger, but for a family looking for a spacious and practical seven seater for sensible money, there is nothing to match it. And for the ultimate in people moving, the Volkswagen Multivan is, despite its commercial vehicle name, a very refined and dynamically capable large family car.

A final observation….have we reached peak Crossover? At the refresher days for the ICOTY awards it was notable that there were rather few of the ubiquitous high riding hatchbacks that have so dominated the past decade among the 37 shortlisted contenders. In fact only the Kia Sportage, Volkswagen’s ID.5 and Taigo, Aston Martin’s DBx 707 and the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport could be classed as crossovers or SUVs (and of course Range Rover was building SUVs long before the genre became popular).

Instead we’re seeing the emergence of vehicles that are slightly higher than the traditional saloon or hatch, but lower than the typical crossover. The C5X, Megane and Ariya, as well as Ford’s Mustang Mach E are example of this type of vehicle. The good news is they don’t seem to be as constrained styling wise as the crossover breed, and being lower and more sleek, they should be more efficient dynamically too. A positive trend I would suggest. Text: Cathal Doyle – cathal@fleet.ie