Tag Archives: crossover

When the Nissan Juke arrived on the scene in 2010, it looked like it came from another planet. Based on a concept car, a lot of those features made it to production and the result, with its high, bug-eyed headlights polarised opinions but it was a quirky car that quickly found fans. In fact, it could be said to have started a new market segment for small crossovers, a segment that now accounts for around 10% of the overall market in Ireland. Now there’s a brand-new Juke just launched and we had the chance to drive it in Barcelona. Based on a platform shared with the Renault Captur, the Juke is new from the ground up and in contrast to the petrol and diesel offerings in the outgoing car, there’s only one engine choice, the 1.0 litre turbocharged triple petrol turbo that already sees duty in the Micra. For this application, the power output is 117bhp and there’s an over …

The original Nissan Qashqai was a huge hit for Nissan, both here and worldwide. It could reasonably be said to have kick-started the mid-size crossover segment, which is now a hugely important and hotly contested sector of the market. The first Qashqai was revolutionary and it has now been replaced with a new model that, while improved in every way, is clearly an evolution of the original. New technology is a big part of the new Qashqai, which will go on sale in time for the January sales rush. Park Assist is available for the first time. Not only will it park the car automatically but it also provides an Around View Monitor, which gives a ‘helicopter view’ of the surroundings – a class first. Park Assist can park the car into a parallel space with the system taking care of the steering and allowing the driver to control the accelerator and brake. It needs a space just 80cm longer …

Suzuki are bringing a brand new Crossover onto the Irish market. The SX4 S-Cross goes on sale in mid October, priced from €19,995. The new car is available in a choice of two or four wheel drive and with either a 1.6 litre petrol or diesel engine. In 2WD trim, the diesel engine emits just 110g/km of CO2, equating to 4.2 l/100 km. All models get seven airbags, ESP, tyre pressure monitoring, DRL, bluetooth, cruise control with speed limiter, air conditioning, heated door mirrors and a space saver tyre. GL+ trim gets spoked alloy wheels, dual zone climate control, front fog lamps, rear privacy glass, silver roof rails and silver skid plates. Top of the range GLX gets front and rear parking sensors, ALLGRIP 4WD, leather upholstery, a world-first double sliding panoramic sunroof, electric retractable mirrors, 17” alloys, HID projector headlamps, headlamp washers and LED DRL. Both 1.6 litre engines, whether petrol or diesel, produce power of 120 bhp, although …