Motoring correspondent Philip Nolan gets to test drive many new vehicles. These are some of his favorite cars from 2022.
THE SUPER(POLE)STAR
In the past year, I’ve test-driven 22 full EVs, the most ever in a single year, which tells you exactly what way the market is going. They ranged from the Fiat 500e, the cheapest EV on the Irish market at just under 25 grand, all the way to the eye-wateringly expensive but brilliant Mercedes-Benz EQS and the Audi RS e-tron GT. The latter did double duty as the official wedding car when I chauffeured one of my nieces to her wedding.
My favorite was the pole star 2 from Volvo’s offshoot EV brand. I loved the understated looks, the premium cabin, the 408hp on tap, the 0-100kph of just 4.7 seconds, and the twin-motor all-wheel drive, all for the (relatively speaking) reasonable price of €74,295. The Polestar 3 crossover SUV is due in 2023, although with a price tag of €100,000, that will be the real test of whether the fledgling brand really can find a sweet spot among the German big boys and the Asian contenders. My instinct says yes.
My favorite was the pole star 2 from Volvo’s offshoot EV brand.
X-CEPTIONAL
Not everyone is ready to go fully electric, so Nissan has delivered the perfect halfway house with the Qashqai e-POWER and, from early 2023, the X-Trail e-POWER too. Both come with petrol engines, but they never actually turn the wheels. Instead, they power a generator that in turn keeps the electric battery topped up.
In the entry-level model, available as a five-seater from €45,995, a single motor drives the front wheels. In the e-4ORCE model I tested (seven-seat SVE trim, €61,995) on winding Alpine roads in Slovenia, there are motors on each axle, allowing for all-wheel drive. In this car you’re never going to be searching for an available charger, because you never have to plug the X-Trail in at all. Literally all the necessary power comes from the constantly topped-up compact 2kWh battery. A spin on a test track showed the X-Trail has proper off-road chops too.
JOG ON
At €24,590 entry level, the Dacia Jogger is the cheapest seven-seat car on the Irish market, a game changer for those with larger families. It took the top honors at the new AA Ireland Car of the Year Awards, largely for that very reason. It’s a surprisingly nimble drive, even with the 110hp 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, light on fuel at 5.8litres/100k, and low on tax at €200 a year.
I would be more enthusiastic in my recommendation were it not for the fact it scored just one star in the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP). Dacia puts this down to the absence of some electronic safety aids rather than anything structural, which is fair enough. However, when many other cars bristle with warning systems, you have to wonder if keeping the price low should be the only consideration.
At €24,590 entry level, the Dacia Jogger is the cheapest seven-seat car on the Irish market
VANTASTIC
In the other big awards event of the year, the Volkswagen ID buzz took the top honors in a unique double as Car of the Year and, in the cargo version, Van of the Year too. I drove it across the Øresund bridge between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden and enjoyed it immensely. It’s a worthy successor to VW’s iconic microbus, though I thought they perhaps could have been just a little more daring with the styling. The two-tone finishes are nice, though.
The driver engagement is a little on the passive side, but it’s an MPV and there are some things you just can’t reinvent. As for performance, the 0-100kph sprint of 10.1 seconds is fairly leisurely by EV standards, and a top speed of 145kph is also modest. Still, a VW van really is more of a lifestyle statement that tugs at your latently hippy heartstrings.
In the other big awards event of the year, the Volkswagen ID buzz took the top honors in a unique double as Car of the Year and, in the cargo version, Van of the Year too.(Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Volkswagen of America)
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
It seems like decades ago, but it was only last March when I was in Tuscany to drive the Skoda Enyaq iV coupe, a visually much sharper version of the Enyaq crossover, with beautiful sleek lines. Some of the components were made in Ukraine, so supply chain issues were immediate. As of now, the website only asks for expressions of interest, and no pricing is available. I hope that’s remedied early in 2023, because the coupe has a lot to offer. I really enjoyed the RS model, which boasts top speed of 180kph and a 0-100kph acceleration time of just 6.5 seconds.
The aerodynamics contribute to range of up to 540km on a single charge. I drove the car on mostly rural roads and found the handling to be sharp without being thrilling. The real attraction is that massive bursts of speed are possible when you need to overtake in a short window of opportunity, which was often, thanks to farm vehicles, trucks, and just generally slow coach drivers in clapped-out old Fiats. I look forward to getting reacquainted, whenever that is.
The designers of the Citroën C5 X say it is a mix of a saloon, an estate and an SUV, though I’m firmly in the middle camp. Photo William CROZES @ Continental Productions
ESTATE OF GRACE
You have to love the French, whose fondness for a bit of mystique is eternal. The designers of the Citroën C5 X say it is a mix of a saloon, an estate and an SUV, though I’m firmly in the middle camp. Whatever you call it, you can’t deny the beauty of the design. At 4,085mm, this is a long car, and that gives it a genuinely graceful silhouette, enhanced by the five-petal wheels, and the contrasting roof and body colours. There are three engine options, and the best is the 225hp plug-in hybrid. The C5 X comes with Progressive Hydraulic Cushions to create what they call the magic carpet effect. On a test drive in Catalunya, I thought this made the car feel just a little spongy in corners, though flipping the drive mode to sport tightened everything up a little. Nonetheless, this is a very comfortable car, and excellent value, with an entry-level price of €36,990.