A round-up of this week's motors news in brief
BMW revamps Sterling scheme
BMW IS planning a revamp of its Sterling Collection. Introduced earlier this year in an effort to stem the flow of Irish buyers shopping abroad, the scheme offers UK-sourced new BMWs through its Irish dealer network.
By buying from BMW’s UK affiliate, rather than from Germany or the Irish distributor, Irish dealers can garner discounts of up to 10 per cent.
The result is that the vast majority of the brand’s 1,220 new car sales this year have been Sterling Collection cars. While customer savings are, in general, 10 per cent or more compared to official list prices, final prices can vary between dealers. As a result there is no official Sterling Collection price list, causing some confusion for buyers.
Toyota, Subaru new joint venture
TOYOTA WILL unveil its new sports car joint venture with Subaru at next week’s Tokyo motor show.
The FT-86 concept is all set for production and is hoped to be a long-awaited replacement for the Celica in a segment the brand departed from several years ago. The rear-wheel drive sports car will be powered by a 2-litre boxer engine with a six-speed manual gearbox and will feature a lightweight body. The car has been spotted testing at the Nürburgring and initial reports from there suggest it offers the same sort of dynamic drive as the early versions of the Celica, only this time with modern safety technology. You will likely see the car on sale in the latter part of 2011.
Renault’s new Scenic and Grand Scenic
RENAULT HAS launched its new range of Scenic and Grand Scenic (pictured below) models in Ireland, with prices starting at €21,990 for the 1.6-litre biofuel petrol version of the five-seater.
However, with emissions of 174g/km and a road tax of €630, buyers are likely to prefer to opt for the 1.5-litre 86bhp diesel offering, starting at €23,290 and with emissions of just 130g/km it comes with an annual motor tax of €156.
The new seven-seater Grand Scenic starts at €24,890 for the 1.6-litre biofuel version and €26,290 for a 106bhp 1.5-litre diesel version. Renault’s new dual-clutch transmission will feature in the car next year. The car has grown slightly on its predecessor.
Standard features include air-conditioning, ESP stability control and six airbags.
VW’s new Polo aims to secure entry-level sales
VOLKSWAGEN LAUNCHED its new Polo in Ireland this week, with its focus on securing a stronger share of the entry-level sales in the supermini market here. With an introductory price of €14,590 for the three-door model and €14,990 for the five-door version, the brand recognises that in previous years most of its models were sold at the upper end of its range, regarded as the more premium purchase in mainstream markets.
Now that motorists seem mesmerised by prices, VW is eager to service the entry-level element of this market as well.
The new Polo is a big step up in terms of offering, in many ways now representing a downsized Golf rather than simply a small Volkswagen.
Five engines are offered on Irish models, starting with a three-cylinder 1.2-litre 60bhp petrol and a 109g/km 75bhp 1.6-litre diesel. Despite its size, the diesel engine falls into band A (€104 per year) for motor tax purposes, while the petrol versions are Band B (€156). The diesel model starts at €16,670.